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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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 — videos and posts
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pitch — completely
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. spell — letters
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bat — the animal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. content — happy
  18. spell — magic
  19. row — a line
  20. foot — a measure
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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