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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: kick · scale · bulb · hand · deal · tube · pitcher · rash

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. scale — in music
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. deal — to handle
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tube — the underground
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. rash — a series
  21. tube — a container
  22. bulb — for light
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. kick — in football

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