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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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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: kick · calf · bulb · game · land · wound · content · snap

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. kick — in football
  3. land — to come down
  4. game — wild animals
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. snap — to click
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bulb — for light
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. game — a match

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