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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rash — hasty
  5. court — of law
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. content — happy
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. content — the amount
  11. stand — to bear
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — rain
  14. degree — an amount
  15. rash — a series
  16. wax — to grow
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. court — for sport
  22. degree — temperature
  23. court — of a king
  24. shower — to wash

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