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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 120 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: content · cap · board · fall · ball · race · lean · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. race — humankind
  3. content — happy
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a committee
  7. lean — to bend
  8. race — a contest
  9. ball — a dance
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. content — the amount
  15. fall — the season
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. kick — in football
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. lean — thin
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a great time
  24. fall — to drop

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