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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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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: pitch · patient · calf · shower · kid · nail · tear · perch

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tear — to rip
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. kid — child
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. perch — the fish
  20. shower — to wash
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. shower — rain
  24. patient — a sick person

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