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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. kick — in football
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. hand — help
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. net — for catching
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. stock — shares
  16. hand — in cards
  17. season — in sport
  18. stock — goods
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. content — the amount
  24. season — of the year

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