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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. mug — a face
  5. wind — moving air
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. object — an aim
  9. content — happy
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. content — the amount
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mug — a cup
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — a city
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. capital — money
  19. object — a thing
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. band — a ring
  24. mug — to rob

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