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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. game — a match
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. race — a contest
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. saw — the tool
  9. race — humankind
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. land — to come down
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. game — wild animals
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. land — a country
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bark — to shout

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