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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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Word bank
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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: toast · calf · game · mouse · pound · field · face · cold

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cold — not warm
  6. field — farmland
  7. game — wild animals
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. game — a match
  13. field — a subject
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. face — part of the head
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pound — a weight
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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