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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hand — help
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kick — in football
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. saw — the tool
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. content — the amount
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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