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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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Word bank
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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: bear · kick · capital · bulb · content · jam · calf · field

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bulb — for light
  3. content — happy
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. field — farmland
  8. content — the amount
  9. bear — the animal
  10. field — a subject
  11. kick — in football
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bear — the animal
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. capital — money
  19. bulb — for light
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. calf — of the leg

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