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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. current — happening now
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. content — happy
  8. hand — help
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hand — in cards
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. current — of water
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cue — for pool
  20. pitch — completely
  21. current — electric
  22. cue — a hint
  23. content — the amount
  24. leaves — to go away

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