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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. pit — in a race
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. content — the amount
  7. pit — a hole
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. content — happy
  10. deal — to handle
  11. snap — to click
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. hand — help
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. kick — in football
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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