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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. tube — a container
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mark — a grade
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. swing — music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bat — the animal
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. content — happy
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. content — the amount
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — the underground

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