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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: hand · bay · game · stem · kick · content · rush · staff

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. content — the amount
  3. rush — hurry
  4. content — happy
  5. stem — to come from
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. staff — employees
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. game — wild animals
  19. staff — employees
  20. kick — in football
  21. hand — help
  22. staff — a stick
  23. game — a match
  24. stem — of a plant

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