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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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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: pitcher · cell · fine · fall · wind · kid · club · mug

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. fall — the season
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cell — a phone
  6. mug — a face
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mug — to rob
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mug — a cup
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. club — a group
  13. kid — child
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fine — all right
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fall — to drop

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