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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. drill — the tool
  6. perch — the fish
  7. content — the amount
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. drill — a practice
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. hand — in cards
  17. drill — army training
  18. content — happy
  19. pass — a permit
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. date — the fruit
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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