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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stand — to bear
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. foot — a measure
  20. content — the amount
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. pitcher — a jug

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