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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kick — in football
  3. file — a document
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. content — the amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. swing — to play on
  10. file — a tool
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. swing — in golf
  15. stock — shares
  16. swing — music
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stock — goods
  24. fan — to cool the air

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