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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 116 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bat — the animal
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. squash — to crush
  5. kick — in football
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wound — an injury
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bound — obliged
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. board — to get on
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bound — certain
  19. board — a committee
  20. bound — tied together
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. content — the amount
  24. wound — an injury

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