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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. can — a tin
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. can — a tin
  9. scale — in music
  10. mine — for digging
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. content — the amount
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. content — happy
  24. mine — belonging to me

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