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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. content — the amount
  13. squash — the sport
  14. shower — to wash
  15. squash — to crush
  16. shower — rain
  17. bat — the animal
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. rush — a thrill

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