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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. roll — a cake
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. roll — a list
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. stand — to bear
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rest — a break
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cell — a phone
  17. content — happy
  18. cell — in biology
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. content — the amount
  23. bat — for baseball
  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