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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 116 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: bark · file · fork · shower · cabinet · pitch · cell · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — rain
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. file — a tool
  15. march — music
  16. cell — in biology
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. file — a document
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. file — a line of people

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