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

Word bank: game · kick · hand · foot · ground · cell · stick · content

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — in football
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cell — in biology
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. foot — a measure
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. game — a match
  13. hand — in cards
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ground — a position
  16. cell — a phone
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. hand — help
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. content — happy
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. ground — crushed

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