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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stem — to come from
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. shower — rain
  11. content — the amount
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kick — in football
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. shower — to wash
  18. season — of the year
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. content — happy

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