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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: kick · bay · key · fine · content · pass · kid · land

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. key — in music
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. pass — a permit
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. land — ground
  13. kid — child
  14. fine — all right
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. content — happy
  17. land — a country
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. kick — in football
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. land — to come down
  23. content — the amount
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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