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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bat — the animal
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bank — for money
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wake — a trail
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bank — for money
  18. content — the amount
  19. swing — music
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. swing — to play on

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