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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 120 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. field — for sport
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. fall — to drop
  8. craft — a skill
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fall — the season
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. craft — boats
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. fall — to drop
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. calf — a young animal

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