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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem 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. snap — to snap out of it
  3. face — to point toward
  4. spell — magic
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. content — the amount
  11. game — a match
  12. face — part of the head
  13. snap — to click
  14. content — happy
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. stem — to come from
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. face — to confront
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. game — wild animals
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. deal — to handle

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