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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chair — a leader
  3. field — a subject
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. field — for sport
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. mark — a grade
  11. prune — to trim
  12. squash — the sport
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. wake — a trail
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wake — before a funeral

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