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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. content — the amount
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. content — happy
  14. tear — to rip
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. sharp — clever
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kick — in football
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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