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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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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: kick · cold · bark · shower · chest · pit · stick · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. shower — rain
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. kick — in football
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. chest — a box
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. shower — to wash

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