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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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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: pass · calf · pitcher · trunk · field · row · shower · dip

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. row — a line
  4. field — farmland
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pass — a permit
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — for sport
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. dip — to sink
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. shower — rain
  19. field — a subject
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. calf — a young animal
  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