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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. march — music
  5. root — the cause
  6. swing — to play on
  7. field — for sport
  8. spring — of water
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. game — a match
  11. root — of a word
  12. spring — a coil
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — the season
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. root — of a plant
  17. field — a subject
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pit — a hole
  20. swing — in golf
  21. march — the month
  22. swing — music
  23. pit — in a race
  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