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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. row — to paddle
  4. scale — size or range
  5. club — a group
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. net — for catching
  8. club — for dancing
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. row — a line
  12. cell — a phone
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. club — for golf
  21. cell — in biology
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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