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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: wound · calf · row · saw · swing · pitcher · lie · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. row — a line
  6. land — ground
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lie — to recline
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wound — an injury
  15. land — a country
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. saw — the tool
  18. swing — in golf
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. row — to paddle
  24. calf — a young animal

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