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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. tube — a container
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. season — in sport
  8. branch — a division
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. season — of the year
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. tube — the underground
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. snap — to click
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. 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