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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. content — happy
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. foot — a measure
  6. swing — music
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pit — in a race
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. snap — to click
  14. pit — a hole
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bass — low music
  17. lean — thin
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. content — the amount
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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