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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. field — a subject
  4. tube — the underground
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. craft — boats
  7. field — farmland
  8. tube — a container
  9. stem — to come from
  10. content — the amount
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. content — happy
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hand — help
  15. craft — a skill
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. field — for sport
  23. lean — thin
  24. hand — in cards

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