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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. content — happy
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. object — to protest
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. court — of law
  10. content — the amount
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. root — of a word
  16. object — an aim
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. object — a thing
  20. court — for sport
  21. bark — to shout
  22. kick — in football
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. arm — part of the body

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