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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. vault — a safe
  5. stock — goods
  6. can — a tin
  7. hand — help
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. can — to be able to
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. content — happy
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cold — an illness
  17. content — the amount
  18. can — a tin
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stock — shares
  24. bat — the animal

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