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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. content — happy
  5. lean — to bend
  6. net — after costs
  7. spell — letters
  8. mug — a cup
  9. net — in sport
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. net — for catching
  14. content — the amount
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mug — to rob
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spell — a short time
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. file — a tool
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. spell — magic
  23. file — a document
  24. lean — thin

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