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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  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. content — happy
  2. craft — a skill
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tube — the underground
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. tube — a container
  8. degree — temperature
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. degree — from a university
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bear — the animal
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bear — the animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. craft — boats
  19. content — the amount
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. degree — an amount
  22. march — music
  23. bear — to put up with
  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