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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 120 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: suit · squash · cap · mine · pit · field · calf · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. suit — to fit
  5. field — for sport
  6. cap — a lid
  7. pit — a hole
  8. suit — clothes
  9. field — a subject
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cap — of ice
  16. squash — to crush
  17. field — farmland
  18. suit — in cards
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. cap — a hat
  23. pit — in a race
  24. calf — of the leg

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