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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: pitcher · nail · spring · calf · ball · land · root · bat

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. root — of a word
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spring — of water
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. root — the cause
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. root — of a plant
  13. ball — a dance
  14. land — a country
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. land — to come down
  17. spring — a coil
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ball — a great time
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — ground
  24. spring — the season

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