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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. content — the amount
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. plane — a tool
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. squash — the sport
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. squash — to crush
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. content — happy
  18. toast — bread
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. plane — in geometry

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