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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. degree — from a university
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. field — farmland
  6. bound — obliged
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — certain
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. field — for sport
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. field — a subject
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. racket — for tennis

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