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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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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: rest · pop · track · pitcher · shower · bat

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pop — to visit
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rest — what's left
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pop — soda
  11. track — a song
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. track — a path
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pop — music
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. shower — rain

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