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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. content — happy
  3. chip — for betting
  4. net — in sport
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cell — a phone
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. net — for catching
  14. pop — to visit
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pop — soda
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cell — in biology
  21. content — the amount
  22. pop — music
  23. net — after costs
  24. content — videos and posts

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