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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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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: bat · tube · race · prune · deal · club · chest · pitcher

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. club — a group
  4. chest — a box
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. deal — to handle
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. race — a contest
  13. chest — of your body
  14. race — humankind
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bat — the animal
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. race — the arms race
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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