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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. scale — in music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. mine — for digging
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. date — the fruit
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bass — low music
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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