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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pass — a permit
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. cold — not warm
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. charge — in control
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. lean — to bend
  11. charge — a price
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. lean — thin
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. content — the amount
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. charge — electricity
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. field — a subject

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