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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.

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: kid · pitcher · wound · fan · game · cue · scale · arm

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cue — a signal
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cue — a hint
  9. kid — child
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. game — a match
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cue — for pool
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. scale — in music
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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