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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. chip — to eat
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. content — happy
  6. firm — a company
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. firm — decided
  10. spring — the season
  11. squash — the sport
  12. spring — of water
  13. squash — to crush
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. firm — steady
  23. content — the amount
  24. spring — a coil

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