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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bark — to shout
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. craft — a skill
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. ground — crushed
  15. drill — a practice
  16. field — a subject
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. hand — help
  19. drill — army training
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. craft — boats
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. drill — the tool

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