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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. game — wild animals
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cell — in biology
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. season — in sport
  13. kid — child
  14. game — a match
  15. cell — a phone
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. tube — a container
  21. chair — a leader
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. tube — the underground
  24. season — of the year

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