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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. mine — for digging
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. content — the amount
  9. rock — a stone
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. roll — a cake
  13. content — happy
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bat — the animal
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. deal — to handle

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