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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. content — happy
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wound — an injury
  13. content — the amount
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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