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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. hand — in cards
  3. lean — to bend
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. swing — to play on
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. swing — music
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bulb — for light
  12. content — happy
  13. lean — thin
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bulb — for light
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. content — the amount
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. swing — in golf
  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