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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. field — farmland
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. field — for sport
  12. kick — in football
  13. season — of the year
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. face — part of the head
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. season — in sport
  18. scale — in music
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. field — a subject

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