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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: pitcher · bark · arm · swing · shower · track · kid · rush

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bark — to shout
  6. track — to keep track
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kid — child
  9. swing — music
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. track — a song
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. rush — hurry
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. swing — in golf
  21. track — a path
  22. swing — to play on
  23. shower — rain
  24. arm — a part of something

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