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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 116 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wound — an injury
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. field — farmland
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. field — for sport
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wound — an injury
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rule — a law
  16. field — a subject
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. perch — the fish
  19. content — happy
  20. rule — government
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. content — the amount
  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