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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. content — happy
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. board — to get on
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spring — the season
  10. board — a committee
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. row — a line
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. row — to paddle
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. spring — of water
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. content — the amount
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cap — a lid

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