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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.

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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: cell · bear · field · wake · calf · rock · chest · wind

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. chest — a box
  9. field — for sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. field — a subject
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rock — a stone
  16. field — farmland
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wake — a trail

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