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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. field — for sport
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. perch — the fish
  5. field — a subject
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. field — farmland
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. season — in sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. rash — a series
  19. season — of the year
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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