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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. game — a match
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. field — for sport
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. content — the amount
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. game — wild animals
  18. ground — the earth
  19. shower — rain
  20. field — a subject
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pound — a weight
  24. content — happy

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