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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. perch — the fish
  8. content — the amount
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chest — a box
  11. chip — to eat
  12. mark — a grade
  13. content — happy
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. cell — in biology
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. perch — for a bird

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