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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. current — happening now
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mate — a partner
  5. field — a subject
  6. current — electric
  7. current — of water
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. field — farmland
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. content — happy
  19. row — a line
  20. content — the amount
  21. hand — help
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mate — a friend
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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