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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: chair · race · racket · hide · field · straw · calf · rule

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rule — government
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. race — humankind
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — farmland
  8. chair — a leader
  9. field — for sport
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. race — a contest
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. field — a subject
  20. rule — a law
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chair — to sit on

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