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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: tube · bat · bowl · fall · shower · pitcher · pound · patient

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. shower — to wash
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. shower — rain
  12. tube — a container
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. tube — the underground
  19. fall — to drop
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fall — the season

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