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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. content — happy
  3. fork — in a road
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — in football
  6. swing — music
  7. present — there
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. present — a gift
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. present — the time now
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. swing — to play on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. swing — in golf
  24. content — the amount

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