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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. field — a subject
  4. tear — from crying
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. tear — to rip
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. tear — from crying
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. field — for sport
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. field — farmland
  13. branch — a division
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. squash — the sport
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. squash — to crush

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