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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. content — happy
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. firm — decided
  6. season — of the year
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. shower — rain
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. shower — to wash
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. date — the fruit
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. firm — a company
  20. content — the amount
  21. firm — steady
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. content — videos and posts

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