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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: roll · pitcher · drill · bat · plane · ground · chest · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. ground — a position
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. roll — a list
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ground — the earth
  13. chest — a box
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bat — the animal
  21. roll — a cake
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. chest — of your body

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