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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. spring — the season
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. march — the month
  8. scale — size or range
  9. field — a subject
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. ground — the earth
  14. field — for sport
  15. plane — a tool
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spring — of water
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pitch — completely
  22. scale — in music
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. plane — in geometry

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