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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. object — to protest
  4. fine — high quality
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. kid — child
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — boats
  9. rush — hurry
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. object — a thing
  12. fine — all right
  13. field — a subject
  14. net — for catching
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. craft — a skill
  20. kid — to tease
  21. object — an aim
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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