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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: calf · field · season · club · bore · capital · chest · sharp

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. club — for dancing
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. chest — of your body
  6. season — in sport
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — to drill
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. season — of the year
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. capital — a city
  14. club — for golf
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. sharp — clever
  17. club — a group
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. capital — money
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. field — farmland

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