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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. suit — to fit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kick — in football
  9. chest — of your body
  10. net — for catching
  11. chest — a box
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. mine — for digging
  14. content — happy
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. suit — in cards
  23. content — the amount
  24. kid — child

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