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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. game — a match
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. game — wild animals
  5. content — the amount
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. content — happy
  8. can — to be able to
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. can — a tin
  17. stem — to come from
  18. fork — in a road
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. can — a tin
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bowl — to roll

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