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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · shower · pitch · bore · bark · kid · cabinet · rash

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. mine — for digging
  5. kid — child
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. rash — a series
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. shower — rain
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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