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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. chest — of your body
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chest — of your body
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. face — to point toward
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. field — for sport
  10. chest — a box
  11. spring — of water
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. field — farmland
  16. band — a music group
  17. dip — to sink
  18. field — a subject
  19. spring — a coil
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. current — electric
  22. spring — the season
  23. current — of water
  24. current — happening now

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