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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: mine · rush · wound · chair · rash · hand · pitcher · land

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wound — an injury
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. rash — a series
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. land — a country
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rush — hurry
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. hand — help
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chair — a professorship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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