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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. content — happy
  4. shower — to wash
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mine — for digging
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. swing — to play on
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. swing — in golf
  20. shower — rain
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. content — the amount
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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