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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. staff — employees
  7. shower — to wash
  8. scale — in music
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. shower — rain
  11. wound — an injury
  12. band — a ring
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. last — finally
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. staff — a stick
  19. band — a music group
  20. wound — an injury
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. staff — employees
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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