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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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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: spring · ruler · kid · calf · field · racket · land · present

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. present — a gift
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. land — a country
  8. spring — a coil
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. kid — to tease
  13. present — there
  14. kid — child
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — farmland
  17. spring — of water
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. spring — the season
  22. present — the time now
  23. field — for sport
  24. calf — a young animal

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