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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. mine — for digging
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. field — farmland
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. lean — thin
  18. field — for sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. field — a subject

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