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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rest — what's left
  5. content — the amount
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. race — the arms race
  8. kick — in football
  9. root — of a word
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rest — a break
  12. swing — to play on
  13. race — a contest
  14. root — of a plant
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. content — happy
  19. rash — a series
  20. race — humankind
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fork — in a road
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. root — the cause

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