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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 116 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. stem — to come from
  8. court — of law
  9. field — a subject
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. court — of a king
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. drill — a practice
  15. field — farmland
  16. rush — hurry
  17. drill — army training
  18. spring — of water
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spring — the season
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. drill — the tool
  24. court — for sport

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