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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. track — to keep track
  3. present — there
  4. tear — to rip
  5. present — the time now
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. field — for sport
  10. track — a song
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. field — a subject
  14. tear — from crying
  15. date — the fruit
  16. tear — from crying
  17. field — farmland
  18. track — a path
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. fork — in a road
  24. present — a gift

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