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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. press — to push
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. press — a publisher
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. capital — money
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. content — the amount
  23. kick — in football
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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