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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. field — for sport
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. field — farmland
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. field — a subject
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cold — not warm

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