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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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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: ground · arm · tear · bulb · swing · shower · coach · pitcher

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. shower — to wash
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — to rip
  10. swing — music
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. tear — from crying
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ground — a position
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. swing — in golf
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bulb — for light
  24. ground — the earth

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