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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. content — happy
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rash — hasty
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cell — in biology
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. stand — to bear
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. content — the amount
  20. rash — a series
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. sharp — clever
  24. game — a match

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