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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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. lean — to bend
  3. file — a document
  4. mug — a cup
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. lean — thin
  8. file — a tool
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mug — a face
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. content — happy
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. content — the amount
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. file — a line of people
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bat — in an idiom

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