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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. scale — in music
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. scale — size or range
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. shower — rain
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. shower — to wash
  17. land — a country
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. land — to come down
  21. face — to confront
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bat — the animal

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