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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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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: wound · pitcher · calf · game · land · cabinet · pop · file

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. game — a match
  3. wound — an injury
  4. land — a country
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. file — a document
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. file — a line of people
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — soda
  14. file — a tool
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. land — ground
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. land — to come down
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. pop — to visit

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