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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. craft — boats
  5. pitch — completely
  6. saw — the tool
  7. field — a subject
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. capital — money
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. craft — a skill
  19. field — for sport
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. capital — a big letter

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