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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rest — what's left
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. field — farmland
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — music
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spring — of water
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rest — a break
  18. field — a subject
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. field — for 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