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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. ground — crushed
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. can — to be able to
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — a hint
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cold — not warm
  13. field — farmland
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. ground — a position
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — a leader
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. ground — the earth
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. can — a tin
  22. swing — music
  23. can — a tin
  24. cue — for pool

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