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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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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. band — a ring
  6. scale — in music
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kick — in football
  10. net — after costs
  11. field — a subject
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. net — in sport
  15. bore — to drill
  16. field — farmland
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bore — to tire
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. fork — in a road
  23. field — for sport
  24. net — for catching

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