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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. swing — to play on
  7. rash — a series
  8. content — the amount
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. swing — in golf
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. lean — thin
  13. kick — in football
  14. pit — a hole
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. can — to be able to
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pit — in a race
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. swing — music

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