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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · ball · game · pitcher · row · lash · rash · scale

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. scale — size or range
  5. ball — a great time
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. rash — a series
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. ball — a dance
  19. wound — an injury
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rash — hasty
  23. game — a match
  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