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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 120 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 · chip · root · saw · bat · hand · club · lean

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chip — to eat
  3. saw — the tool
  4. root — the cause
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — help
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. saw — the tool
  9. club — for dancing
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lean — to bend
  12. club — for golf
  13. root — of a word
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lean — thin
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. club — a group
  24. root — of a plant

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