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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. ground — crushed
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. field — farmland
  8. squash — the sport
  9. swing — to play on
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. date — the fruit
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. key — for a lock
  17. field — a subject
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. ground — a position
  20. swing — music
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. swing — in golf
  23. ground — the earth
  24. squash — to crush

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