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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tear — from crying
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. tear — to rip
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. saw — the tool
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. content — the amount
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kick — in football
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stand — to bear
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. spring — of water
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. sharp — with an edge

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