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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. swing — music
  5. march — the month
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mine — for digging
  8. net — in sport
  9. swing — to play on
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. field — for sport
  14. swing — in golf
  15. field — a subject
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. field — farmland
  19. net — after costs
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. net — for catching
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. chair — to sit on

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