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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — the arms race
  5. content — the amount
  6. bark — to shout
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mine — for digging
  11. tube — the underground
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. tube — a container
  20. perch — the fish
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. content — happy
  24. perch — for a bird

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