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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. lean — thin
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bat — the animal
  9. content — happy
  10. lean — to bend
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. field — for sport
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rash — a series
  18. field — farmland
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. kid — to tease
  21. field — a subject
  22. kid — child
  23. content — the amount
  24. bat — in an idiom

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