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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 120 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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. content — happy
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. staff — employees
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. rock — a stone
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rock — music
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. kick — in football
  17. plane — a tool
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cold — an illness
  21. content — the amount
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. staff — a stick

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