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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. kid — to tease
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. sharp — clever
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. field — farmland
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. kid — child
  22. field — for sport
  23. date — the fruit
  24. field — a subject

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