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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pit · spell · tear · pitcher · drill · bass · band · bark

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bass — low music
  5. spell — letters
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. band — a music group
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. drill — army training
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bark — to shout
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tear — from crying
  20. band — a ring
  21. spell — magic
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. tear — from crying

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