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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. toast — bread
  5. ground — a position
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cell — a phone
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cell — in biology
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. content — happy
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. content — the amount

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