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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. content — the amount
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rock — a stone
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. rock — music
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. rash — a series
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. straw — a straw man

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