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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 124 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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pop — music
  4. content — happy
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. face — to confront
  7. deal — to handle
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. content — the amount
  10. sharp — clever
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pop — to visit
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pop — soda
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. face — part of the head
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cold — an illness
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. face — to point toward

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