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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. content — the amount
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. game — wild animals
  8. present — there
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. content — happy
  12. key — for a lock
  13. present — the time now
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. present — a gift
  18. key — in music
  19. key — the most important part
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. game — a match
  23. ground — the earth
  24. file — a document

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