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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: bear · stick · cold · ruler · staff · kick · content · mine

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. staff — employees
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bear — the animal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. staff — employees
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. mine — for digging
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. staff — a stick
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. content — happy
  19. kick — in football
  20. content — the amount
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. ruler — for measuring

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