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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: clip · degree · calf · firm · tear · jam · content · mark

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. clip — to cut
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. firm — decided
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. firm — steady
  10. content — the amount
  11. tear — to rip
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. degree — from a university
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mark — a trace
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — a video
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mark — a grade
  23. degree — an amount
  24. content — happy

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