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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. field — for sport
  12. pitch — completely
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. field — farmland
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. last — to go on
  18. racket — for tennis

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