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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: stock · rash · chip · march · bass · pitcher · drill · shower

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. march — music
  3. shower — to wash
  4. drill — the tool
  5. march — the month
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. march — the month
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — low music
  15. stock — goods
  16. shower — rain
  17. chip — for betting
  18. drill — a practice
  19. stock — shares
  20. drill — army training
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rash — a series
  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