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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: foot · wound · last · kid · game · rush · kick · content

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. kid — to tease
  4. last — to go on
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. content — happy
  9. foot — a measure
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. last — finally
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. kid — child
  15. kick — in football
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. content — the amount
  18. last — final
  19. rush — hurry
  20. game — a match
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wound — an injury
  24. game — a kind of play

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