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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.

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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. field — for sport
  3. hand — in cards
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ground — a position
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. race — a contest
  9. hand — help
  10. ground — crushed
  11. race — humankind
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bat — the animal
  18. field — farmland
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. field — a subject
  24. swing — music

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