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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. tear — from crying
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. game — wild animals
  10. content — the amount
  11. fall — to drop
  12. saw — the tool
  13. content — happy
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bear — the animal
  16. game — a match
  17. bat — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. content — videos and posts

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