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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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. mine — for digging
  4. content — happy
  5. perch — the fish
  6. face — to confront
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. row — to paddle
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. face — to point toward
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stem — to come from
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. content — the amount
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. face — part of the head

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