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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mug — a face
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mate — a partner
  9. content — happy
  10. date — the fruit
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mug — a cup
  13. squash — the sport
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mug — to rob
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. content — the amount

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