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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. game — wild animals
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. field — for sport
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. shower — to wash
  17. field — farmland
  18. shower — rain
  19. key — in music
  20. game — a match
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bat — the animal
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bat — in an idiom

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