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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. bore — to drill
  5. capital — money
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. stem — to come from
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. capital — a city
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. content — happy
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bore — to tire
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bore — gave birth

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