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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a ring
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. staff — employees
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. content — happy
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. content — the amount
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. staff — a stick
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ball — a great time
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ball — a dance
  21. staff — employees
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. band — a music group

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