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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 116 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. season — in sport
  5. row — a line
  6. hand — help
  7. rash — a series
  8. content — the amount
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. content — happy
  14. kick — in football
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. sharp — clever
  19. rash — hasty
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. row — to paddle
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. hand — in cards
  24. wave — with your hand

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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