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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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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. field — a subject
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. spring — a coil
  7. field — farmland
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bass — the fish
  13. club — a group
  14. field — for sport
  15. lean — thin
  16. club — for golf
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bass — low music
  19. squash — to crush
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. saw — the tool
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. saw — the tool

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