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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: date · kid · lean · straw · cap · scale · pound · pitcher

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. kid — child
  8. lean — to bend
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cap — of ice
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pound — a weight
  15. scale — in music
  16. cap — a hat
  17. lean — thin
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cap — a lid
  24. pitcher — a jug

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