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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · chest · pit · band · game · pitcher · wax · track

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. club — for dancing
  5. game — wild animals
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. band — a ring
  9. chest — of your body
  10. club — for golf
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. track — a path
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chest — of your body
  19. band — a music group
  20. pit — a hole
  21. club — a group
  22. wax — to grow
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. chest — a box

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