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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — a trail
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — the amount
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. last — final
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. staff — employees
  14. content — happy
  15. staff — a stick
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on

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