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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. content — happy
  3. bear — the animal
  4. land — to come down
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. current — electric
  9. wound — an injury
  10. current — happening now
  11. bear — the animal
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. content — the amount
  15. land — a country
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. capital — money
  18. land — ground
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. current — of water
  22. wound — an injury
  23. capital — a city
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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