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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. bat — the animal
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. present — a gift
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. roll — a list
  9. lean — thin
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. toast — bread
  13. swing — music
  14. content — the amount
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. present — there
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. present — the time now
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. swing — in golf
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bat — in an idiom

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