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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: bat · object · bank · shower · tube · chest · drill · pitcher

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bank — for money
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bank — of a river
  15. object — a thing
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. object — an aim
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tube — the underground
  21. object — to protest
  22. tube — a container
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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