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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. field — a subject
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. kid — child
  12. chair — a leader
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. capital — money
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. field — for sport
  22. capital — a city
  23. field — farmland
  24. calf — a young animal

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