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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · mouse · rock · plane · calf · straw · cell · game

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. content — happy
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cell — a phone
  19. plane — a tool
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. rock — a stone
  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