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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mug · content · kick · rock · row · hand · game · pitch

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. kick — in football
  3. content — the amount
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. hand — help
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rock — a stone
  9. game — wild animals
  10. row — a line
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — a cup
  13. hand — in cards
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. content — happy
  18. pitch — completely
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. mug — to rob
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. row — to paddle
  24. game — a match

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