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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: kick · can · chest · foot · roll · content · shower · court

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. can — a tin
  3. roll — a cake
  4. content — happy
  5. chest — of your body
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. content — the amount
  11. court — of a king
  12. foot — a measure
  13. shower — rain
  14. chest — a box
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. chest — of your body
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kick — in football
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. roll — a list

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