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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. land — ground
  5. last — to go on
  6. cold — an illness
  7. land — a country
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. land — to come down
  13. cold — not warm
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a hole
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy

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