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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 116 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. content — happy
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. pitch — completely
  6. shower — to wash
  7. swing — to play on
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. shower — rain
  12. swing — music
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — boats
  18. chair — a leader
  19. content — the amount
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. swing — in golf
  24. track — a song

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