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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pop — to visit
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. pop — music
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. content — happy
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. content — the amount
  20. net — in sport
  21. pop — soda
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. net — after costs

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