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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: ground · rock · pitch · band · bat · shower · file · pit

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bat — the animal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. ground — the earth
  12. file — a tool
  13. rock — music
  14. ground — crushed
  15. file — a document
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. ground — a position
  21. band — a music group
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. band — a ring

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