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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: shower · pitch · stand · file · pitcher · bark

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. pitch — completely
  3. file — a document
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. stand — to bear
  11. file — a tool
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. shower — rain
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. file — a line of people
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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