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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cell — a phone
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fall — the season
  7. pit — a hole
  8. file — a tool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. file — a document
  12. pit — in a race
  13. object — an aim
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. object — to protest
  16. content — the amount
  17. object — a thing
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. file — a line of people
  22. kick — in football
  23. fall — to drop
  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