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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · field · net · calf · file · kid

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. field — for sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. file — a tool
  6. pit — a hole
  7. net — after costs
  8. kid — child
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. field — a subject
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. field — farmland
  15. file — a document
  16. pit — in a race
  17. net — in sport
  18. kid — to tease

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