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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 124 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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. field — for sport
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pit — in a race
  6. land — a country
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. land — ground
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. race — humankind
  15. field — farmland
  16. land — to come down
  17. field — a subject
  18. race — a contest
  19. pit — a hole
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. race — the arms race

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