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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. land — to come down
  4. rash — a series
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wax — to grow
  11. land — a country
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. pitcher — a jug

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