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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. pop — soda
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. field — for sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. root — of a word
  8. field — a subject
  9. root — the cause
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wound — an injury
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. row — a line
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pop — to visit
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pop — music
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. field — farmland
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. root — of a plant

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