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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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468
Word bank
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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. hand — help
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. hand — in cards
  9. content — happy
  10. cell — a phone
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cell — in biology
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. content — the amount
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. kick — in football
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bear — the animal
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. pound — a weight
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. content — videos and posts

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