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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 120 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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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: racket · hand · file · bass · arm · spell · pitcher · fall

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fall — to drop
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. file — a document
  7. spell — a short time
  8. hand — help
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. spell — letters
  12. file — a line of people
  13. spell — magic
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a tool
  18. bass — low music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pitcher — a jug

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