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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. mate — a partner
  6. file — a tool
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. foot — a measure
  9. field — farmland
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rush — hurry
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. mate — to breed
  15. shower — rain
  16. field — for sport
  17. shower — to wash
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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