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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. content — the amount
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. degree — from a university
  9. field — a subject
  10. pop — soda
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. field — farmland
  17. pop — music
  18. content — happy
  19. pop — to visit
  20. field — for sport
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. degree — an 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