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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. shower — rain
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. march — the month
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. march — music
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bat — the animal
  17. march — the month
  18. shower — to wash
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. cue — for pool
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. content — the amount

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