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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bat — the animal
  4. toast — bread
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. cell — a phone
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. cell — in a prison

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