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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. rock — music
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. snap — to click
  15. content — the amount
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. rock — a stone
  20. content — happy
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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