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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. kid — to tease
  4. race — humankind
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. race — a contest
  7. kid — child
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. field — farmland
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. race — the arms race
  13. field — for sport
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — low music
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. field — a subject
  24. net — in sport

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