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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. content — the amount
  3. row — a line
  4. content — happy
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. squash — the sport
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. row — to paddle
  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