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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: pitcher · toast · lash · cold · foot · row · land · bore

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bore — to tire
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. land — to come down
  11. cold — not warm
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. toast — bread
  14. row — a line
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bore — to drill
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. land — a country
  21. foot — a measure
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pitcher — a jug

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