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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. content — the amount
  5. bound — certain
  6. field — farmland
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bound — obliged
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. saw — the tool
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. kick — in football
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. field — for sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bound — tied together
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. field — a subject
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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