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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rock — a stone
  5. last — finally
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. content — happy
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. kid — child
  12. cap — a lid
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. last — final
  18. bulb — for light
  19. last — to go on
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. foot — a measure
  22. cap — of ice
  23. content — the amount
  24. foot — the bottom

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