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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: patient · kick · pit · pitcher · perch · shower · file · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — rain
  8. pit — a hole
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. file — a document
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. kick — in football
  17. pit — in a race
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. file — a tool
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitcher — a jug

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