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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. race — the arms race
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fall — to drop
  6. drill — the tool
  7. fall — to drop
  8. content — happy
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. fall — the season
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. drill — army training
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. race — a contest
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. drill — a practice
  21. race — humankind
  22. content — the amount
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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