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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fine — all right
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fine — high quality
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. degree — temperature
  9. fork — in a road
  10. content — happy
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. degree — from a university
  13. content — the amount
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. present — the time now
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. present — a gift
  19. chair — a leader
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. present — there
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. calf — a young animal

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