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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. land — a country
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bulb — for light
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — ground
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bulb — for light
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. cell — in biology
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cell — a phone
  21. row — a line
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. land — to come down

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