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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. foot — a measure
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. scale — in music
  6. field — for sport
  7. game — a match
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. lean — thin
  10. content — the amount
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. scale — size or range
  13. content — happy
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. field — farmland
  17. roll — a list
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. field — a subject
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lean — to bend
  23. game — wild animals
  24. roll — a cake

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