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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. net — after costs
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. net — in sport
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. ground — crushed
  8. net — for catching
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — for betting
  11. roll — a cake
  12. ground — a position
  13. roll — a list
  14. mark — a grade
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. content — happy
  17. mark — a trace
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ground — the earth
  24. arm — part of the body

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