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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stock — shares
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. drill — army training
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. stock — goods
  9. bat — the animal
  10. field — farmland
  11. kick — in football
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. can — a tin
  18. field — for sport
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. drill — the tool
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. can — to be able to
  24. can — a tin

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