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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. kick — in football
  3. row — to paddle
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fork — in a road
  7. row — a line
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ground — a position
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. content — happy
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. band — a music group
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. band — a ring
  18. mine — for digging
  19. fine — high quality
  20. content — the amount
  21. fine — all right
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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