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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: pitcher · jam · ruler · bat · kid · stem · hand · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. hand — in cards
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. kid — child
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stem — to come from
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. hand — help
  23. row — to paddle
  24. ruler — for measuring

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