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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. drill — the tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. foot — a measure
  6. field — a subject
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. drill — army training
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. content — happy
  12. drill — a practice
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. field — for sport
  19. branch — a division
  20. field — farmland
  21. chest — a box
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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