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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. content — happy
  4. staff — employees
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. field — farmland
  7. staff — a stick
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bound — obliged
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. field — a subject
  13. branch — a division
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. swing — in golf
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rash — a series
  18. swing — music
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rash — hasty
  23. field — for sport
  24. content — the amount

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