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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. clip — to cut
  3. shower — rain
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. can — a tin
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. drill — army training
  8. clip — for paper
  9. field — farmland
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. clip — a video
  12. drill — the tool
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. can — a tin
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. drill — a practice
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. can — to be able to
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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