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

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. content — happy
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. content — the amount
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness

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