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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: row · calf · shower · stick · key · pop · content · snap

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. content — happy
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. pop — to visit
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pop — music
  12. shower — rain
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. row — to paddle
  15. key — in music
  16. snap — to click
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. key — for a lock
  23. pop — soda
  24. key — the most important part

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