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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. land — ground
  4. game — wild animals
  5. charge — a price
  6. land — to come down
  7. game — a match
  8. charge — electricity
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. land — a country
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. charge — in control
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pop — music
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. content — happy
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pop — to visit

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