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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. land — a country
  4. drill — army training
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pop — music
  7. drill — the tool
  8. dip — to sink
  9. pop — soda
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — to point toward
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. field — for sport
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. drill — a practice
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pop — to visit
  23. field — farmland
  24. land — ground

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