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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cap — of ice
  6. field — farmland
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cap — a lid
  10. drill — the tool
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. chest — of your body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. drill — a practice
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cap — a hat
  21. drill — army training
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pit — a hole

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