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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. field — for sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. field — farmland
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. squash — to crush
  9. field — a subject
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. chip — for betting
  16. kid — to tease
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. ball — a great time
  19. march — the month
  20. wax — to grow
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. ball — a dance
  24. kid — child

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