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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. hand — help
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. suit — in cards
  8. net — for catching
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bass — low music
  11. game — a match
  12. field — farmland
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. suit — to fit
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bass — the fish
  21. game — wild animals
  22. hand — in cards
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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