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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. drill — the tool
  3. content — happy
  4. drill — army training
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rest — a break
  8. ball — a great time
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. band — a music group
  14. drill — a practice
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. content — the amount
  18. band — a ring
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a dance
  22. rest — what's left
  23. saw — the tool
  24. calf — of the leg

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