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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: staff · game · calf · object · pop · field · clip · rush

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. object — to protest
  4. pop — to visit
  5. field — a subject
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. object — a thing
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — hurry
  10. clip — a video
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — soda
  14. object — an aim
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. clip — for paper
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. field — farmland
  20. clip — to cut
  21. field — for sport
  22. game — wild animals
  23. staff — employees
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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