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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. key — the most important part
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. present — the time now
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. key — in music
  7. can — a tin
  8. game — wild animals
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. present — there
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. can — to be able to
  13. game — a match
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. key — for a lock
  18. present — a gift
  19. can — a tin
  20. file — a document
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — on the skin

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