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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: trunk · wake · cold · staff · field · safe · calf · pitcher

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. field — a subject
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. field — for sport
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. staff — employees
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. staff — employees
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wake — a trail
  24. staff — a stick

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