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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: calf · land · bowl · scale · straw · club · pit · bore

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bore — to tire
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. land — to come down
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. scale — in music
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. club — for dancing
  18. land — a country
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. pit — a hole
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bore — to drill
  24. scale — size or range

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