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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. field — farmland
  4. net — after costs
  5. firm — a company
  6. degree — temperature
  7. sharp — clever
  8. degree — an amount
  9. field — for sport
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. firm — steady
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. net — for catching
  18. field — a subject
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. net — in sport
  23. degree — from a university
  24. firm — decided

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