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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pit — a hole
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bear — the animal
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. content — happy
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bat — the animal

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