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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. content — the amount
  3. bound — certain
  4. content — happy
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. field — for sport
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bound — obliged
  11. shower — rain
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rock — music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bound — tied together
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. field — a subject
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wound — an injury
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. field — farmland

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