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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bulb — for light
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bulb — for light
  7. firm — a company
  8. cold — not warm
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. content — the amount
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. scale — in music
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. ball — a dance
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — steady
  21. content — happy
  22. ball — a great time
  23. swing — in golf
  24. scale — size or range

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