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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. field — a subject
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cold — not warm
  8. sharp — clever
  9. firm — steady
  10. field — for sport
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bound — tied together
  13. cold — an illness
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bound — obliged
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bound — certain
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. firm — a company
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. firm — decided
  24. field — farmland

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