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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. field — for sport
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. snap — to click
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. march — music
  14. field — farmland
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. march — the month
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. foot — a measure
  21. kid — to tease
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. field — a subject
  24. march — the month

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