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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. content — the amount
  3. roll — a list
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a skill
  6. content — happy
  7. bank — for money
  8. kick — in football
  9. bank — for money
  10. roll — a cake
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. kid — child
  21. swing — to play on
  22. race — a contest
  23. bank — of a river
  24. kid — to tease

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