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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. deal — to handle
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. land — a country
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. calf — of the leg

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