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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. kick — in football
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. content — happy
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stand — to bear
  18. content — the amount
  19. net — in sport
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. lie — an untruth

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