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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.

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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — thin
  4. content — the amount
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. game — a match
  9. spell — magic
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. row — a line
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. spell — a short time
  14. season — of the year
  15. content — happy
  16. lean — to bend
  17. game — wild animals
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. season — in sport
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. spell — letters
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. season — to add flavour

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