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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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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: pitcher · cue · nail · hand · perch · rest · chest · march

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. march — music
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. march — the month
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cue — a hint
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cue — a signal
  16. rest — a break
  17. march — the month
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cue — for pool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. chest — a box
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rest — what's left
  24. perch — the fish

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