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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. kick — in football
  3. stand — to bear
  4. snap — to click
  5. mug — a cup
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. mug — a face
  12. craft — a skill
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. pound — a weight
  19. land — ground
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. craft — boats

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