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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. content — the amount
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fine — all right
  9. row — a line
  10. mine — for digging
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. row — to paddle
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fine — high quality
  19. content — happy
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. chip — for betting
  22. kid — child
  23. chip — to eat
  24. mine — belonging to me

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