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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 120 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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. kid — to tease
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. field — for sport
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. field — a subject
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. craft — boats
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. kid — child
  20. field — farmland
  21. craft — a skill
  22. rock — music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bat — the animal

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