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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: rash · bat · chair · wind · prune · nail · stick · pitcher

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wind — moving air
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. chair — a leader
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. bat — the animal
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. bat — in an idiom

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