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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: present · kick · chair · saw · tube · content · scale · calf

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. scale — in music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tube — a container
  13. kick — in football
  14. present — the time now
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. scale — size or range
  18. tube — the underground
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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