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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. scale — size or range
  11. field — a subject
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. field — for sport
  14. snap — to click
  15. scale — in music
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. sharp — with an edge

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