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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. track — to keep track
  4. file — a tool
  5. mark — a grade
  6. content — the amount
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mark — a trace
  9. rock — a stone
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. file — a line of people
  15. track — a song
  16. rock — music
  17. track — a path
  18. file — a document
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. content — happy
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mine — for digging

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