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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. staff — employees
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bat — the animal
  7. staff — a stick
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. stem — to come from
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. spring — a coil
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. content — the amount
  20. staff — employees
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. stem — of a plant

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