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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. staff — employees
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bat — the animal
  7. march — the month
  8. staff — employees
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rock — music
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. staff — a stick
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. march — the month
  17. pass — a permit
  18. present — a gift
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. march — music
  23. content — the amount
  24. arm — part of the body

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