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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: spring · arm · wound · land · track · row · calf · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. track — a path
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spring — the season
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. row — a line
  8. track — a song
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. row — to paddle
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. land — a country
  14. spring — of water
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — an injury
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spring — a coil
  23. land — ground
  24. track — to keep track

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