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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. lean — thin
  7. content — happy
  8. shower — rain
  9. content — the amount
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. firm — decided
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bat — the animal
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. shower — to wash
  18. firm — a company
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. firm — steady
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. file — a line of people

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