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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  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 — the amount
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. can — to be able to
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. can — a tin
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bat — the animal
  22. content — happy
  23. can — a tin
  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