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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. content — happy
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. cue — a hint
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cue — a signal
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. kick — in football
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cue — for pool
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. race — a contest
  18. bulb — for light
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. prune — to trim
  23. content — the amount
  24. bulb — for light

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