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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: march · date · shower · file · board · scale · mark · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mark — a trace
  4. scale — size or range
  5. march — the month
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. march — music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mark — a grade
  13. file — a tool
  14. board — to get on
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. board — a committee
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. scale — in music
  23. shower — rain
  24. date — the fruit

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