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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 116 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. row — a line
  3. bass — the fish
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. rush — hurry
  6. land — ground
  7. track — to keep track
  8. ground — crushed
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pop — to visit
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pop — soda
  13. land — to come down
  14. ground — a position
  15. land — a country
  16. track — a path
  17. pop — music
  18. bass — low music
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. track — a song
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. ground — the earth

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