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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. hand — in cards
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. mine — for digging
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. band — a music group
  20. vault — a safe
  21. field — a subject
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. hand — help
  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