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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. press — newspapers
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — the animal
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. press — to push
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bark — to shout
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. content — the amount
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. press — a publisher
  23. kick — in football
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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