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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: content · kick · kid · hide · bass · pop · deal · spring

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pop — to visit
  4. spring — of water
  5. bass — low music
  6. kid — to tease
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. kick — in football
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. spring — a coil
  16. content — the amount
  17. spring — the season
  18. deal — to handle
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pop — soda
  21. kid — child
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. pop — music
  24. deal — a big deal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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