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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitcher · rash · perch · track · spring · hand · calf · season

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spring — of water
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. hand — help
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rash — a series
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. rash — hasty
  10. spring — the season
  11. track — a path
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spring — a coil
  14. track — to keep track
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. track — a song
  19. perch — the fish
  20. hand — in cards
  21. season — of the year
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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