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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. net — after costs
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. snap — to click
  9. net — in sport
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kick — in football
  15. file — a tool
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. content — the amount
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. net — for catching
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. file — a document

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