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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: bark · field · pitch · stand · dip · shower · row · arm

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. row — a line
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. row — to paddle
  8. field — a subject
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bark — to shout
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — to sink
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. shower — rain
  22. stand — to bear
  23. pitch — completely
  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