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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. hand — help
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. row — to paddle
  7. stem — to come from
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. hand — in cards
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. kick — in football
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. row — a line
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. content — the amount

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