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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. row — to paddle
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. field — for sport
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. field — farmland
  11. dip — to sink
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chest — of your body
  15. row — a line
  16. pit — in a race
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pit — a hole
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. cell — in biology
  24. chest — a box

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