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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. current — electric
  5. ball — a dance
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. hand — help
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kick — in football
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stand — to bear
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. content — the amount
  22. capital — a city
  23. ball — a great time
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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