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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. kick — in football
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. hand — in cards
  6. press — newspapers
  7. content — happy
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a music group
  10. hand — help
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. chest — a box
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. craft — boats
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. content — the amount
  22. sharp — clever
  23. band — a ring
  24. chest — of your body

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