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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 120 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 ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. root — of a plant
  11. field — a subject
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bore — to drill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. field — farmland
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bore — to tire
  23. field — for sport
  24. calf — of the leg

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