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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. club — for golf
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. field — for sport
  6. cap — a lid
  7. dip — to sink
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. degree — an amount
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. field — a subject
  13. row — to paddle
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. degree — from a university
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. cap — a hat
  18. degree — temperature
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cap — of ice
  22. field — farmland
  23. row — a line
  24. club — a group

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