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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 · cabinet · lie · chest · wake · snap · kick · content

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. snap — to click
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wake — a trail
  13. content — happy
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. content — the amount
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. chest — a box
  22. kick — in football
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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