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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: wake · pitcher · rock · shower · track · bark · game · bat

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. track — a path
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wake — a trail
  19. track — a song
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. track — to keep track
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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