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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. present — there
  5. staff — a stick
  6. content — the amount
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. scale — in music
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. staff — employees
  14. kid — to tease
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. present — a gift
  17. content — happy
  18. present — the time now
  19. scale — size or range
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. chest — a box
  22. staff — employees
  23. kid — child
  24. calf — of the leg

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