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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cap — a hat
  3. present — a gift
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. rest — a break
  8. present — the time now
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. field — for sport
  18. present — there
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cap — a lid
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cap — of ice
  23. tube — the underground
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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