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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. field — a subject
  3. current — happening now
  4. saw — the tool
  5. current — electric
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. squash — the sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. face — to point toward
  11. perch — the fish
  12. squash — to crush
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to confront
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — of your body
  17. current — of water
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. field — for sport
  24. saw — the tool

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