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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 116 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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. content — the amount
  5. spell — a short time
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. spell — letters
  8. content — happy
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a face
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. game — wild animals
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wound — an injury
  19. game — a match
  20. sharp — clever
  21. spell — magic
  22. wound — an injury
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. trunk — of a tree

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