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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: bound · bat · tear · coach · pitch · shower · spell · hand

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. shower — rain
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pitch — completely
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. tear — to rip
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bound — tied together
  11. tear — from crying
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. bound — certain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. shower — to wash

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