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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: rash · pitch · bat · bank · plane · kid · cue · game

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cue — a signal
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cue — a hint
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. rash — a series
  8. kid — child
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pitch — completely
  17. game — a match
  18. bank — for money
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cue — for pool
  24. kid — to tease

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