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

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. kick — in football
  3. game — a match
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. sharp — clever
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. content — the amount
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. ball — a dance
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ball — a great time
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stem — to come from
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. content — happy
  22. game — wild animals
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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