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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. field — for sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. land — to come down
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. kid — child
  9. swing — music
  10. bear — the animal
  11. swing — to play on
  12. field — a subject
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bear — the animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — farmland
  24. wind — to turn a key

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