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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. swing — music
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cell — in biology
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. degree — temperature
  18. swing — in golf
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. degree — an amount
  21. content — happy
  22. cell — a phone
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. rest — a break

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