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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 116 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bat — the animal
  5. tube — a container
  6. content — the amount
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cell — in biology
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. tube — the underground
  18. kick — in football
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. net — after costs
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cell — a phone
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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