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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. content — the amount
  6. craft — a skill
  7. suit — in cards
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. suit — to fit
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bat — the animal
  13. suit — clothes
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. date — the fruit
  21. tube — a container
  22. deal — to handle
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. tube — the underground

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