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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: mate · vault · hand · calf · content · wound · root · pound

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. content — happy
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pound — a weight
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mate — a partner
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. wound — an injury
  11. content — the amount
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — a safe
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. mate — to breed
  24. calf — of the leg

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