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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bore · shower · spring · track · racket · season · bass · pitcher

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. track — a song
  4. shower — rain
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. track — to keep track
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. spring — of water
  16. season — of the year
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. track — a path
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bass — low music
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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