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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. content — happy
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — to bear
  11. game — a match
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rash — a series
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rash — hasty
  17. game — wild animals
  18. content — the amount

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