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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: pitcher · cue · bat · straw · fall · file · stick · shower

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. fall — the season
  9. file — a tool
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cue — a hint
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bat — the animal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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