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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 124 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. present — the time now
  3. hand — help
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. content — happy
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitch — completely
  14. foot — a measure
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. content — the amount
  17. bat — the animal
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. present — there
  22. hand — in cards
  23. present — a gift
  24. bat — for baseball

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