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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: rest · clip · pitcher · rash · calf · track · safe · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. track — a path
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. clip — to cut
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. clip — a video
  8. rash — a series
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. land — to come down
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. track — a song
  16. rash — hasty
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. clip — for paper
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rest — a break
  24. land — ground

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