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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  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. pop — soda
  2. field — a subject
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. field — farmland
  5. pop — to visit
  6. scale — size or range
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pop — music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. net — after costs
  13. field — for sport
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. net — for catching
  20. hand — help
  21. scale — in music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. leaves — to go away
  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