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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. net — after costs
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. row — a line
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bear — the animal
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. net — for catching
  22. row — to paddle
  23. net — in sport
  24. mine — for digging

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