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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. prune — to trim
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cell — a phone
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. field — a subject
  21. prune — to trim
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. field — farmland

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