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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. pit — a hole
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. field — a subject
  9. date — the fruit
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. drill — a practice
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pit — in a race
  15. season — of the year
  16. stand — to bear
  17. season — in sport
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. field — for sport
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. drill — army training
  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