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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: pop · rule · squash · hand · calf · bowl · pitcher · field

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. rule — government
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. hand — help
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pop — music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. squash — the sport
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — a subject
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — a law
  23. pop — to visit
  24. bowl — to roll

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