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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cap — a lid
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. rash — a series
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — the tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. ball — a dance
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. content — the amount
  17. clip — a video
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ball — a great time

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