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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. squash — the sport
  3. object — to protest
  4. swing — in golf
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. swing — to play on
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. object — an aim
  13. field — farmland
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — for sport
  16. swing — music
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. field — a subject
  19. squash — to crush
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. calf — a young animal

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