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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: mug · mine · staff · calf · field · press · cold · arm

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. press — a publisher
  4. mug — a cup
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cold — not warm
  9. staff — a stick
  10. press — newspapers
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. field — for sport
  13. mug — a face
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. press — to push
  17. staff — employees
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. field — farmland
  21. staff — employees
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mug — to rob
  24. field — a subject

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