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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. file — a document
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. object — an aim
  7. content — happy
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. content — the amount
  11. file — a tool
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. kick — in football
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. object — a thing
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pound — a weight
  19. spring — of water
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a line of people
  23. object — to protest
  24. spring — the season

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