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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: deal · foot · content · kick · mine · file · game · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. game — wild animals
  3. deal — to handle
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. mine — for digging
  6. kick — in football
  7. content — the amount
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. kid — child
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. content — happy
  13. kid — to tease
  14. file — a line of people
  15. foot — a measure
  16. file — a tool
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. file — a document
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. game — a match
  24. foot — part of the body

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