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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pound — a weight
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. mine — for digging
  7. rest — what's left
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. content — happy
  12. rest — what's left
  13. content — the amount
  14. rest — a break
  15. rash — a series
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. snap — to click
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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