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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 120 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: bowl · shower · pitch · chest · cold · mouse · rock · bay

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. shower — rain
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. chest — of your body
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chest — a box
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. pitch — completely
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rock — music
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bay — a horse colour

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