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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chest — a box
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. mine — for digging
  11. band — a ring
  12. bat — the animal
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. content — happy
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bear — the animal
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. band — a music group
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. chest — of your body

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