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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: swing · pitch · bark · tear · shower · patient

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. tear — to rip
  3. swing — to play on
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. shower — to wash
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. shower — rain
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pitch — completely
  11. tear — from crying
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. tear — from crying
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. swing — music

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