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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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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: chest · club · tear · pound · pitcher · rush · chip · stick

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. club — a group
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. club — for golf
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chip — for betting
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chip — to eat
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. chest — of your body
  17. club — for dancing
  18. chest — a box
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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