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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. spell — magic
  7. lean — thin
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. lean — to bend
  10. content — happy
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spell — letters
  15. kid — child
  16. content — the amount
  17. spell — a short time
  18. foot — a measure

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