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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: kick · pound · chest · pit · cue · hand · bowl · fan

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. chest — a box
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cue — for pool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — in a race
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pit — a hole
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cue — a hint
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fan — to cool the air

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