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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: calf · pit · drill · trunk · bat · file · pitch · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. pit — a hole
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bat — the animal
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. file — a line of people
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pit — in a race
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. drill — army training
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. calf — a young animal

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