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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. content — happy
  4. chip — to eat
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. tear — to rip
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. tear — from crying
  10. scale — size or range
  11. shower — rain
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. kick — in football
  15. scale — in music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. content — the amount
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chip — for betting
  24. scale — for weighing

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