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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 · rash · bat · firm · stand · hide · band · chest

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. firm — steady
  6. chest — a box
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. firm — decided
  9. band — a music group
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rash — a series
  15. chest — of your body
  16. firm — a company
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rash — hasty
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. band — a rubber band

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