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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. staff — employees
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. scale — size or range
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. kick — in football
  16. fine — all right
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. content — happy
  19. staff — employees
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. fine — high quality
  22. content — the amount
  23. scale — in music
  24. content — videos and posts

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