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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. content — the amount
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cue — for pool
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cue — a hint
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. kid — child
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. cue — a signal
  15. fine — all right
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. fine — high quality
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fine — a penalty

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