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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: roll · pitcher · chest · band · press · shower · saw · racket

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. band — a ring
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. shower — to wash
  7. band — a music group
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chest — a box
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. press — newspapers
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. saw — the tool
  19. press — to push
  20. press — a publisher
  21. shower — rain
  22. roll — a list
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. saw — the tool

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