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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — for sport
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. field — farmland
  7. chip — to eat
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — a contest
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. field — a subject
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a dance
  15. race — humankind
  16. row — a line
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. tear — to rip
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. chip — for betting
  23. row — to paddle
  24. race — the arms race

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