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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: pitcher · fall · wake · chest · dip · drill · game · pop

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pop — soda
  11. drill — army training
  12. game — wild animals
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pop — music
  15. game — a match
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wake — a trail
  19. dip — to sink
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. pop — to visit
  23. fall — the season
  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