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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 116 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. mate — to breed
  3. kick — in football
  4. last — finally
  5. content — happy
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. ball — a great time
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mate — a friend
  12. scale — in music
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. content — the amount
  20. last — final
  21. ball — a dance
  22. last — to go on
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — of a tree

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