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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. mine — for digging
  10. snap — to click
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. content — happy
  15. branch — a division
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. content — the amount
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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