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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. content — happy
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bank — for money
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. season — in sport
  13. bank — for money
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. season — of the year
  16. mark — a trace
  17. content — the amount
  18. row — a line
  19. mark — a grade
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bank — of a river
  23. stand — to bear
  24. snap — to click

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