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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 116 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. tear — from crying
  6. prune — to trim
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. court — for sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. court — of law
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. prune — to trim
  14. court — of a king
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. content — the amount
  19. tear — to rip
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. bear — the animal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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