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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: rock · wax · chair · hand · file · kid · kick · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. hand — in cards
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. kick — in football
  9. file — a line of people
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. file — a tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. rock — a stone
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. chair — a leader
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. rock — music
  23. file — a document
  24. rock — to move gently

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