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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 116 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: shower · hand · pitcher · lie · ball · club · nail · game

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — for golf
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. hand — in cards
  7. game — a match
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. shower — to wash
  12. club — for dancing
  13. ball — a great time
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. game — wild animals
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. shower — rain
  23. club — a group
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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