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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: bass · bore · shower · pitch · wind · deal · file · bark

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bore — to drill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. deal — to handle
  14. shower — rain
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bore — to tire
  17. file — a tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bass — low music
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bark — to shout
  24. file — a document

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