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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. field — for sport
  3. degree — an amount
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. degree — temperature
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. craft — a skill
  13. kid — child
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. degree — from a university
  16. craft — boats
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. row — to paddle
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. row — a line

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