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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. season — of the year
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. game — a match
  9. field — farmland
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. field — for sport
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. rash — a series
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rock — a stone

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