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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. field — for sport
  3. game — wild animals
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bear — the animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. field — farmland
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. field — a subject
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bat — the animal
  22. game — a match
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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