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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. band — a music group
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rock — a stone
  9. saw — the tool
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. game — wild animals
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. field — for sport
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rock — music
  21. field — farmland
  22. band — a ring
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. saw — the tool

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