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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. capital — a city
  3. bat — the animal
  4. content — the amount
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mug — to rob
  7. wound — an injury
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. capital — money
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. content — happy
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mug — a face
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mug — a cup
  24. bat — for baseball

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