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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: wake · pound · content · cold · calf · chair · chip · foot

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cold — not warm
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. cold — an illness
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. content — happy
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. content — the amount
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pound — a weight
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. chair — a leader
  24. content — videos and posts

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