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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — a subject
  3. stem — to come from
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wound — an injury
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. field — for sport
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bear — the animal
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. field — farmland

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