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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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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: racket · kid · cold · club · pitcher · shower · present · dip

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. present — a gift
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. kid — child
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. shower — rain
  10. club — for dancing
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. dip — to sink
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cold — not warm
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. club — a group
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cold — an illness
  23. club — for golf
  24. kid — to tease

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