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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. content — happy
  4. snap — to click
  5. kick — in football
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. dip — to sink
  8. content — the amount
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. rock — music
  18. toast — bread
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. scale — size or range
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. scale — in music
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. toast — the most admired

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