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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. field — farmland
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mug — a face
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. capital — money
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mug — a cup
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. field — for sport
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. bark — to shout
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. spring — the season
  17. capital — a city
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. field — a subject
  20. spring — of water
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bark — of a tree

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