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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. content — happy
  3. capital — a city
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bound — obliged
  6. sharp — clever
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. tear — to rip
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. capital — money
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. content — the amount
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bound — certain
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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