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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. track — a path
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rush — hurry
  9. hand — help
  10. content — the amount
  11. track — a song
  12. row — to paddle
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. content — happy
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. row — a line
  24. track — to keep track

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