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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. court — of a king
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. foot — a measure
  13. court — of law
  14. staff — a stick
  15. scale — size or range
  16. court — for sport
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. staff — employees
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. spring — the season
  21. tube — a container
  22. scale — in music
  23. staff — employees
  24. calf — of the leg

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