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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. content — the amount
  3. row — a line
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. squash — the sport
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bat — the animal
  21. plane — a tool
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. content — happy

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