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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stand — to bear
  3. ball — a dance
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. land — a country
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. degree — from a university
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. degree — an amount
  11. content — the amount
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. land — to come down
  16. bore — to tire
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. degree — temperature
  20. content — happy
  21. bore — to drill
  22. ball — a great time
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. root — of a word

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