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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rest — what's left
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. rest — a break
  10. squash — to crush
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. field — for sport
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. field — a subject
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. date — the fruit
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rest — what's left
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. racket — for tennis

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