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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kid — child
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pitch — completely
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rash — hasty
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rash — a series
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. current — of water
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — part of the head
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. face — to point toward
  18. current — happening now
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. current — electric
  21. prune — to trim
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. rash — on the skin

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