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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cold — an illness
  3. squash — the sport
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. court — for sport
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — thin
  13. content — happy
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. can — a tin
  17. court — of law
  18. squash — to crush
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. cold — not warm
  22. court — of a king
  23. chip — for betting
  24. can — to be able to

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