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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: pitcher · key · kick · chest · kid · stick · straw · cell

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — the most important part
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. kick — in football
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. key — in music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. kid — child
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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