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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · snap · calf · content · cell · lie

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. race — the arms race
  3. snap — to click
  4. lie — to recline
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. race — a contest
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. content — the amount
  16. race — humankind
  17. cell — a phone
  18. lie — an untruth

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