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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: cabinet · kick · mate · bowl · rule · content · foot · last

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. content — happy
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mate — a friend
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. kick — in football
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mate — to breed
  16. content — the amount
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. foot — a measure
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mate — a partner
  24. last — final

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