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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: nail · content · rock · cell · kid · spell · calf · saw

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. saw — the tool
  7. content — happy
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. spell — letters
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cell — a phone
  12. saw — the tool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. spell — a short time
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — music
  21. spell — magic
  22. kid — child
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cell — in biology

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