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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 124 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. net — after costs
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. kick — in football
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pit — a hole
  8. court — of a king
  9. march — the month
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — a city
  13. lean — thin
  14. net — for catching
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — in a race
  17. court — for sport
  18. lean — to bend
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. content — happy
  21. capital — money
  22. court — of law
  23. march — music
  24. net — in sport

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