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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 116 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: scale · content · kick · row · stand · wound · face · bore

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. scale — in music
  3. row — a line
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bore — to tire
  9. face — to point toward
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. content — happy
  12. bore — to drill
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. content — the amount
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. face — to confront
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. scale — size or range
  23. kick — in football
  24. wound — an injury

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