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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. ball — a dance
  6. root — of a word
  7. march — music
  8. content — happy
  9. march — the month
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. root — the cause
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. sharp — clever
  18. content — the amount
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. root — of a plant
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. march — the month
  24. hide — animal skin

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