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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. content — happy
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. court — of a king
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitch — completely
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. lie — to recline
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. court — of law
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. court — for sport
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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