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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bat — the animal
  3. content — happy
  4. present — a gift
  5. content — the amount
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fall — to drop
  10. present — the time now
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cue — a signal
  20. fall — the season
  21. present — there
  22. ball — a great time
  23. press — newspapers
  24. ball — a dance

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