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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — in football
  3. content — happy
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. file — a line of people
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. stand — to bear
  11. capital — a city
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. file — a tool
  19. capital — money
  20. rush — hurry
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. file — a document
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. rush — a thrill

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