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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: cell · foot · squash · field · calf · ground · chair · game

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ground — crushed
  5. field — a subject
  6. foot — a measure
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ground — a position
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. chair — a leader
  14. ground — the earth
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. squash — to crush
  18. field — for sport
  19. cell — a phone
  20. squash — the sport
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. game — a match
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. foot — the bottom

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