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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. can — a tin
  3. content — happy
  4. court — of law
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. court — for sport
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. snap — to click
  12. can — a tin
  13. court — of a king
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. content — the amount
  18. cap — a hat
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. can — to be able to

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