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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. saw — the tool
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. club — a group
  11. content — the amount
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mine — for digging
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. club — for golf
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bat — the animal

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