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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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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: pitcher · bat · wound · shower · last · march · leaves · cue

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cue — a signal
  7. march — music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — the animal
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. last — final
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — rain
  15. march — the month
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. last — finally
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wound — an injury
  23. last — to go on
  24. leaves — of a tree

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