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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. field — a subject
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — the time now
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wind — moving air
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. perch — the fish
  16. craft — a skill
  17. present — there
  18. cold — not warm
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. wind — moving air
  24. craft — boats

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