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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 · hand · bat · bass · ball · arm · pop · tube

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pop — soda
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bass — low music
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. ball — a dance
  9. pop — music
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pop — to visit
  22. tube — a container
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bass — the fish

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