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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: kid · trunk · rest · calf · face · chair · content · tear

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. kid — to tease
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. face — to point toward
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rest — a break
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. face — part of the head
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rest — what's left
  14. face — to confront
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. content — happy
  21. rest — what's left
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. content — the amount
  24. tear — from crying

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