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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. content — happy
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. content — the amount
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bound — certain
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bound — tied together

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