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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. staff — employees
  4. cap — a lid
  5. staff — employees
  6. firm — a company
  7. present — a gift
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. cap — a hat
  11. staff — a stick
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. firm — steady
  15. chest — of your body
  16. content — happy
  17. shower — to wash
  18. firm — decided
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. content — the amount
  24. cap — of ice

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