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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. stock — goods
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kick — in football
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. row — to paddle
  8. stock — shares
  9. ball — a dance
  10. row — a line
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. content — happy
  13. prune — to trim
  14. perch — the fish
  15. kid — to tease
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. ball — a great time
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. content — the amount
  22. kid — child
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. kick — with a leg

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