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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: snap · drill · shower · trunk · tube · pitch · last · pit

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. last — to go on
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tube — a container
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — army training
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pit — a hole
  15. last — finally
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. pitch — completely
  21. shower — rain
  22. last — final
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. pit — in a race

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