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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: field · row · swing · calf · trunk · chest · roll · mouse

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. field — farmland
  10. row — a line
  11. chest — of your body
  12. swing — music
  13. field — for sport
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. roll — a list
  16. roll — a cake
  17. swing — to play on
  18. row — to paddle
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. chest — a box
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. swing — in golf

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