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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. press — a publisher
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. last — to go on
  5. mug — to rob
  6. press — newspapers
  7. ground — a position
  8. board — a committee
  9. content — the amount
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — finally
  12. ground — crushed
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. mug — a cup
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. last — final
  17. content — happy
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. press — to push
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. mug — a face

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