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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. prune — to trim
  4. field — a subject
  5. net — after costs
  6. field — for sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. field — farmland
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. game — wild animals
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. capital — money
  17. game — a match
  18. prune — to trim
  19. net — in sport
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. lie — to recline
  22. capital — a city
  23. net — for catching
  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