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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. scale — size or range
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. swing — in golf
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. chest — a box
  8. swing — music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. staff — employees
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chest — of your body
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cold — not warm
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. staff — employees

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