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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kid — child
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. content — the amount
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. can — a tin
  8. capital — money
  9. wind — moving air
  10. scale — size or range
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. scale — in music
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. can — a tin
  16. craft — a skill
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. craft — boats
  19. capital — a city
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. can — to be able to
  24. wind — to turn a key

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