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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: pitcher · bowl · snap · pop · wind · pit · cabinet · chest

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pit — in a race
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. chest — a box
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. snap — to click
  19. pop — music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pop — soda
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pitcher — a jug

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