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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. content — the amount
  3. kick — in football
  4. hand — in cards
  5. last — finally
  6. cell — a phone
  7. last — final
  8. kid — to tease
  9. last — to go on
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cell — in biology
  15. kid — child
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hand — help
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. current — happening now
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. prune — the fruit
  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