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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. content — the amount
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bulb — for light
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. firm — decided
  12. firm — steady
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. content — happy
  16. scale — size or range
  17. firm — a company
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. scale — in music
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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