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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. face — to point toward
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. march — the month
  5. face — part of the head
  6. content — happy
  7. march — music
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. kick — in football
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pit — in a race
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pit — a hole
  17. content — the amount
  18. rash — a series
  19. face — to confront
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. rash — hasty
  23. march — the month
  24. rash — on the skin

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