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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. club — a group
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mark — a grade
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. content — happy
  12. clip — a video
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. club — for golf
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. content — the amount
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mark — a trace
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kick — a thrill

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