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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. kick — in football
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. sharp — clever
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. field — farmland
  14. swing — in golf
  15. rock — a stone
  16. lie — to recline
  17. row — a line
  18. field — a subject
  19. content — happy
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. field — for sport
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. kick — with a leg

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