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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: arm · mate · cap · face · straw · field · calf · kick

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. face — part of the head
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. field — a subject
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. face — to confront
  7. field — for sport
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. field — farmland
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. face — to point toward
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cap — a hat
  14. mate — a friend
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cap — of ice
  20. mate — a partner
  21. cap — a lid
  22. kick — in football
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. arm — a part of something

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