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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. row — to paddle
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. snap — to click
  6. content — happy
  7. rash — a series
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. stem — to come from
  13. content — the amount
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. row — a line
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. rash — hasty
  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