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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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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: fork · pit · swing · bass · land · bowl · cold · calf

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. bass — the fish
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pit — in a race
  8. land — to come down
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bass — low music
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fork — in a road
  15. land — a country
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. swing — music
  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