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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. track — a path
  4. shower — to wash
  5. march — the month
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. track — to keep track
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. march — music
  15. club — for golf
  16. track — a song
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — the sport
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — rain
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. perch — for a bird

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