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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. fall — to drop
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. content — happy
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wax — to grow
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. content — the amount
  15. kick — in football
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. date — the fruit
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. fall — the season
  24. chest — of your 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