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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. staff — employees
  7. degree — from a university
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. staff — employees
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. rush — hurry
  13. content — the amount
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. staff — a stick
  17. file — a tool
  18. scale — in music
  19. degree — an amount
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. file — a line of people
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. file — a document

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