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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 116 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. object — an aim
  3. spell — magic
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mate — a partner
  9. spell — letters
  10. content — happy
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mate — to breed
  15. can — to be able to
  16. content — the amount
  17. object — to protest
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. object — a thing
  22. mate — a friend
  23. can — a tin
  24. bat — the animal

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