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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 116 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. net — in sport
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. staff — employees
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. scale — size or range
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. hand — in cards
  12. content — the amount
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. staff — a stick
  17. scale — in music
  18. content — happy
  19. net — for catching
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. net — after costs
  22. staff — employees
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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