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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 120 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 · tear · hand · straw · rush · band · club · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. tear — from crying
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rush — hurry
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. current — electric
  11. band — a music group
  12. current — of water
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tear — to rip
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. hand — help
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. band — a ring
  24. hand — part of the body

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