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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 an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stem — to come from
  7. clip — to cut
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. field — for sport
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. field — farmland
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. clip — a video
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. squash — the sport
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mine — for digging
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. lash — an eyelash

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