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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rock — a stone
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. content — the amount
  6. roll — a cake
  7. clip — a video
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. content — happy
  11. kid — child
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — music
  14. clip — for paper
  15. row — to paddle
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. roll — a list
  18. clip — to cut
  19. kick — in football
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. kid — to tease
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. row — a line

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