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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. press — newspapers
  5. spell — a short time
  6. vault — a safe
  7. spell — magic
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. press — to push
  11. press — a publisher
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. content — the amount
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spell — letters
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. squash — the sport
  21. kid — child
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. content — happy

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