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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. firm — a company
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. content — the amount
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wake — a trail
  7. drill — the tool
  8. firm — steady
  9. hand — help
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hand — in cards
  12. firm — decided
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — a list
  16. object — to protest
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — a practice
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — a thing
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. content — happy
  24. hand — part of the 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