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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. tube — the underground
  3. land — ground
  4. field — a subject
  5. land — a country
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. suit — in cards
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rock — a stone
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. suit — clothes
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. rock — music
  19. suit — to fit
  20. land — to come down
  21. field — farmland
  22. tube — a container
  23. field — for sport
  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