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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rock — a stone
  7. content — happy
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. content — the amount
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. chair — a leader
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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