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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. present — there
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. present — a gift
  5. face — part of the head
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. field — for sport
  8. face — to confront
  9. clip — a video
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. field — a subject
  12. present — the time now
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ground — the earth
  15. face — to point toward
  16. clip — for paper
  17. season — of the year
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. season — in sport
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. ground — crushed
  22. field — farmland
  23. chair — a leader
  24. calf — a young animal

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