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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. content — happy
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. content — the amount
  11. field — farmland
  12. stem — to come from
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. field — a subject
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. kick — in football
  24. field — for sport

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