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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 120 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. can — a tin
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. row — a line
  7. shower — to wash
  8. chest — of your body
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bass — low music
  15. shower — rain
  16. kick — in football
  17. content — happy
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bass — the fish
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. content — the amount
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. chest — a box

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