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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 116 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bass — the fish
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. content — the amount
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tube — the underground
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. content — happy
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. present — the time now
  22. game — a match
  23. tube — a container
  24. game — wild animals

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