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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: march · calf · land · pitcher · lie · kid · mouse · bat

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. land — a country
  4. kid — to tease
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. kid — child
  7. march — the month
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. march — the month
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. land — to come down
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. march — music
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. land — ground
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. lie — an untruth

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