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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 116 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. kid — child
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. chip — to eat
  6. squash — the sport
  7. chip — for betting
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. content — happy
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. content — the amount
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. tube — a container
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. squash — to crush
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. calf — a young animal

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