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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. degree — temperature
  7. capital — money
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. kid — child
  11. tube — the underground
  12. content — happy
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. tube — a container
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stem — to come from
  18. capital — a city
  19. degree — an amount
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. content — the amount
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. stem — of a plant

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