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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. scale — in music
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. can — a tin
  5. tube — the underground
  6. scale — size or range
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. present — the time now
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. last — to go on
  14. content — happy
  15. can — to be able to
  16. can — a tin
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. present — there
  19. march — music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. tube — a container
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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