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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. spring — of water
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. staff — a stick
  5. board — to get on
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. board — a committee
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. spring — a coil
  14. staff — employees
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. staff — employees
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. pound — a weight
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — the season

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