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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. saw — the tool
  3. race — humankind
  4. season — of the year
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. saw — the tool
  7. key — for a lock
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. season — in sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. race — a contest
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. race — the arms race
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — in music
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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