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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. net — after costs
  3. track — a song
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. track — a path
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. content — the amount
  14. rash — hasty
  15. track — to keep track
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. shower — rain
  20. fork — in a road
  21. net — for catching
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. net — in sport
  24. fork — a garden tool

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