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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: game · land · face · branch · pitcher · lash · calf · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. land — to come down
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. branch — a division
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. face — to confront
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bass — the fish
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. land — ground
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. face — part of the head
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. game — a match
  24. land — a country

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