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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: field · saw · shower · rule · roll · present · row · pitcher

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. roll — a cake
  4. field — for sport
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. field — a subject
  7. shower — rain
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. present — a gift
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. present — the time now
  12. field — farmland
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. saw — the tool
  15. roll — a list
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. present — there
  23. shower — to wash
  24. saw — the tool

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