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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fine — all right
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. bound — obliged
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bound — tied together
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cap — a hat
  20. content — the amount
  21. kick — in football
  22. bound — certain
  23. fine — high quality
  24. cap — a lid

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