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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 · staff · stand · coach · net · pitcher · arm · nail

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. net — after costs
  4. staff — employees
  5. stand — to bear
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. staff — employees
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. staff — a stick
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. net — in sport
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. net — for catching

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