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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. can — to be able to
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stand — to bear
  13. can — a tin
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bat — the animal
  16. band — a music group
  17. can — a tin
  18. rest — a break
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. kid — child
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. band — a ring
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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