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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  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. calf — of the leg
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. land — a country
  7. chest — a box
  8. face — to confront
  9. content — happy
  10. present — a gift
  11. chest — of your body
  12. staff — a stick
  13. content — the amount
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. staff — employees
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. present — there
  19. staff — employees
  20. present — the time now
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — a partner
  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