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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. field — for sport
  7. drill — army training
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. field — a subject
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. drill — a practice
  15. kid — child
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. kid — to tease
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. toast — bread
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. field — farmland
  24. drill — the tool

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