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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. board — a committee
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. file — a tool
  5. content — happy
  6. capital — money
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. file — a line of people
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. capital — a city
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. deal — to handle
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. file — a document
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. board — to get on
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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