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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. field — a subject
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. ball — a dance
  6. game — wild animals
  7. drill — a practice
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. game — a match
  12. field — farmland
  13. saw — the tool
  14. field — for sport
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ball — a great time
  19. drill — the tool
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. drill — army training
  24. racket — for tennis

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