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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. game — a match
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bound — obliged
  8. branch — a division
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mark — a grade
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bound — certain
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. squash — the sport
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. content — happy
  21. kick — in football
  22. content — the amount
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bound — tied together

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