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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. content — happy
  3. band — a music group
  4. scale — size or range
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. scale — in music
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. band — a ring
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. saw — the tool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. saw — the tool
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. content — the amount
  23. present — there
  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