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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. chair — a leader
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to point toward
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. field — farmland
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cue — for pool
  10. face — to confront
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. field — a subject
  14. tear — from crying
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — 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