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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 116 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: pit · trunk · tube · calf · straw · rest · patient · field

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. tube — a container
  5. field — a subject
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. tube — the underground
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pit — in a race
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. field — farmland
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. field — for sport
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pit — a hole
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. patient — a sick person

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