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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · lie · pitcher · shower · chest · deal · bat · swing

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. chest — of your body
  9. season — of the year
  10. swing — in golf
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. lie — to recline
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bat — the animal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. swing — music
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. chest — a box
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com