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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: shower · band · rest · pitch · pitcher · craft · racket · hand

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. craft — a skill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. shower — rain
  5. craft — boats
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. hand — in cards
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — help
  21. rest — a break
  22. pitch — completely
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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