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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: wound · scale · bat · kick · game · pitcher · tube · key

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. scale — size or range
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tube — a container
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wound — an injury
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. key — for a lock
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. game — a match
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. key — in music
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kick — in football

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