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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 · bark · file · wax · pitcher · bat · bank · bass

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bass — low music
  4. bank — of a river
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. file — a tool
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bark — to shout
  19. file — a document
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bank — for money
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bat — the 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