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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.

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: racket · land · degree · ground · fork · field · saw · calf

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. ground — crushed
  3. saw — the tool
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. land — ground
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. degree — an amount
  8. saw — the tool
  9. land — to come down
  10. field — a subject
  11. ground — a position
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. field — farmland
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. fork — in a road
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. field — for sport
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. ground — the earth
  22. degree — temperature
  23. land — a country
  24. degree — from a university

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