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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · cue · calf · tear · hide · spell · pitcher · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. game — a match
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tear — to rip
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — magic
  11. cue — a signal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. tear — from crying
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cue — a hint
  16. tear — from crying
  17. band — a music group
  18. spell — a short time
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. spell — letters
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. band — a ring
  24. cue — for pool

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