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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. content — happy
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pitch — completely
  7. content — the amount
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chest — of your body
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. spell — magic
  19. hand — help
  20. chest — of your body
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. rush — hurry
  23. chest — a box
  24. content — videos and posts

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