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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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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: rash · pitch · bark · row · drill · tube · bass · bat

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bark — to shout
  3. drill — the tool
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bass — low music
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. rash — a series
  12. bass — the fish
  13. drill — a practice
  14. row — a line
  15. tube — a container
  16. pitch — completely
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. drill — army training
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bat — for baseball

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