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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 120 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. drill — a practice
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. snap — to click
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. drill — the tool
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. field — a subject
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. stand — to bear
  13. field — farmland
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. drill — army training
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. file — a tool
  22. field — for sport
  23. rest — what's left
  24. calf — a young animal

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