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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: snap · scale · cold · pitcher · band · swing · club · hide

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. scale — in music
  9. club — for dancing
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. band — a ring
  12. club — a group
  13. snap — to click
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. scale — size or range
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. club — for golf
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. swing — music
  23. band — a music group
  24. hide — to keep secret

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