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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — to come down
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. kick — in football
  10. content — happy
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. land — ground
  18. rush — hurry
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. content — the amount
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. land — a country

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