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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: jam · hide · pitcher · bat · rest · chest · cell · deal

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. cell — a phone
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. chest — a box
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bat — for baseball

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