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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: squash · kid · ball · calf · trunk · chest · mouse · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — to tease
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. squash — to crush
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. content — the amount
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. ball — a great time
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. ball — a dance
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. kid — child
  24. calf — a young animal

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