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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. deal — to handle
  8. field — a subject
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chair — a leader
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. field — farmland
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. field — for sport
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hand — help
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. fall — the season
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wind — to turn a key

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