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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. march — the month
  5. sharp — clever
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. content — the amount
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. lean — thin
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — the earth
  12. lean — to bend
  13. ground — a position
  14. kick — in football
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. march — music
  21. content — happy
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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