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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.

Make a worksheet

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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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. track — to keep track
  4. key — in music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cold — an illness
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. key — the most important part
  10. track — a song
  11. bound — tied together
  12. game — a match
  13. track — a path
  14. content — happy
  15. key — for a lock
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. bound — obliged
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bound — certain
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cold — the Cold War

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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