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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. capital — a city
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. snap — to click
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. content — the amount
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. kid — child
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. content — happy
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. capital — money
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. capital — a big letter

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