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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 124 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. press — a publisher
  7. content — happy
  8. tube — a container
  9. row — to paddle
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fork — in a road
  12. press — newspapers
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bore — to drill
  16. press — to push
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bore — to tire
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a leader
  22. content — the amount
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. row — a line

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