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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. lean — thin
  8. race — a contest
  9. pass — a permit
  10. bass — low music
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. race — the arms race
  15. kick — in football
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. race — humankind
  18. wake — a trail
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. content — the amount
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bass — the fish
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. lean — to bend

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