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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. can — a tin
  5. drill — army training
  6. land — a country
  7. snap — to click
  8. land — ground
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. can — a tin
  13. land — to come down
  14. can — to be able to
  15. drill — a practice
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — a subject
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. drill — the tool

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