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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mug · saw · kid · bear · tear · net · pitcher

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. mug — a face
  5. land — a country
  6. mug — to rob
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tear — to rip
  12. net — for catching
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bear — the animal
  16. land — ground
  17. kid — child
  18. net — after costs
  19. land — to come down
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bear — the animal
  22. kid — to tease
  23. net — in sport
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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