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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 · squash · roll · hand · leaves · row · rest · object

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. row — to paddle
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. hand — help
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. hand — in cards
  12. squash — the sport
  13. object — to protest
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. squash — to crush
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. object — a thing
  20. row — a line
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. object — an aim
  23. roll — a list
  24. rest — what's left

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