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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · pitcher · kid · foot · row · prune · charge · bowl

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. land — a country
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. charge — a price
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. land — to come down
  12. prune — to trim
  13. charge — in control
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. charge — electricity
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. land — ground
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. prune — to trim
  20. kid — child
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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