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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 116 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. field — for sport
  4. row — to paddle
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. rash — a series
  7. field — a subject
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. capital — money
  10. content — happy
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. field — farmland
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. rash — hasty
  17. content — the amount
  18. capital — a city

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