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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 116 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: bat · bay · chip · calf · kid · content · cap · sharp

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chip — for betting
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. kid — child
  9. cap — a hat
  10. content — the amount
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chip — to eat
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. kid — to tease

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