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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: bark · patient · pitch · shower · season · bat · hide · roll

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bark — to shout
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. roll — a cake
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. roll — a list
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. season — in sport
  24. pitch — a sports field

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