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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. can — to be able to
  3. staff — employees
  4. wound — an injury
  5. staff — employees
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. content — happy
  9. kid — child
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. hand — in cards
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. can — a tin
  17. wound — an injury
  18. hand — help
  19. can — a tin
  20. kid — to tease
  21. staff — a stick
  22. game — a match
  23. content — the amount
  24. calf — of the leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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