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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. saw — the tool
  4. net — in sport
  5. spell — a short time
  6. court — of law
  7. content — happy
  8. spell — magic
  9. net — after costs
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. net — for catching
  15. content — the amount
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. court — for sport
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. court — of a king
  23. spell — letters
  24. bat — the animal

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