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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. court — for sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. firm — a company
  6. content — happy
  7. root — of a word
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. content — the amount
  13. court — of law
  14. root — of a plant
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. firm — steady
  18. dip — to sink
  19. tear — from crying
  20. firm — decided
  21. court — of a king
  22. root — the cause
  23. kick — in football
  24. stand — to bear

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