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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: track · dip · shower · pitcher · lie · bat · coach · cap

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. track — a path
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. dip — to sink
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — rain
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. track — to keep track

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