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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. present — a gift
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. present — the time now
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. shower — rain
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. land — a country
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. lean — thin
  20. present — there
  21. lean — to bend
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. shower — to wash

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