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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. dip — to sink
  4. content — the amount
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. hand — help
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cue — a hint
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. kick — in football
  21. cue — for pool
  22. content — happy
  23. last — to go on
  24. cue — a signal

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