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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 116 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. field — for sport
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. rash — hasty
  12. field — farmland
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. rash — a series
  16. shower — to wash
  17. lean — thin
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — rain
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. rash — on the skin

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