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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. ground — a position
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pass — a permit
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. field — a subject
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. saw — the tool
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. shower — to wash
  18. scale — in music
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. fall — the season
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. shower — rain

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