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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: kid · scale · rush · pitcher · content · hand · game · straw

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rush — hurry
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. scale — in music
  15. game — a match
  16. kid — child
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. game — wild animals
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hand — help
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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