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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. field — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. game — a match
  8. saw — the tool
  9. field — a subject
  10. can — to be able to
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. saw — the tool
  13. can — a tin
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. court — for sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. field — farmland
  22. court — of a king
  23. can — a tin
  24. calf — a young animal

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