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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. march — music
  3. cap — a lid
  4. march — the month
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — to rob
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — low music
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. content — happy
  12. cap — of ice
  13. march — the month
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. mug — a face
  17. kid — child
  18. pound — a weight
  19. content — the amount
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. kid — to tease
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. cap — a hat

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