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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. content — the amount
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bat — the animal
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. content — happy
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. race — a contest
  11. firm — a company
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. race — humankind
  17. firm — decided
  18. firm — steady
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — a tool
  23. race — the arms race
  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