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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: pound · rock · shower · date · pitch · key · drill · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. drill — a practice
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. drill — army training
  5. pound — a weight
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rock — a stone
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. key — the most important part
  10. rock — music
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pitch — completely
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. drill — the tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. key — in music
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. key — for a lock

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