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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. content — the amount
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. content — happy
  5. track — to keep track
  6. last — final
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — a song
  13. suit — to fit
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. suit — in cards
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. track — a path
  19. kid — child
  20. last — finally
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. suit — clothes
  23. kick — in football
  24. last — to go on

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