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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. shower — to wash
  5. game — wild animals
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. firm — a company
  8. shower — rain
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. board — to get on
  12. clip — a video
  13. firm — decided
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wound — an injury
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wound — an injury
  19. game — a match
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. clip — for paper
  22. firm — steady
  23. board — a committee
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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