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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. net — in sport
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. content — happy
  7. mug — a cup
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. scale — size or range
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. file — a document
  15. content — the amount
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. mug — a face
  19. file — a tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. scale — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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