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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 124 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. toast — bread
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — not warm
  10. field — for sport
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. field — farmland
  13. board — a committee
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — an illness
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. board — to get on
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. calf — of the leg

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