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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hand — in cards
  3. craft — a skill
  4. shower — rain
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. board — a committee
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. content — the amount
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. stand — to bear
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. craft — boats
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hand — help
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. board — to get on

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