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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 120 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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. saw — the tool
  4. content — happy
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rock — music
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. swing — to play on
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. swing — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. snap — to click
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bat — the animal
  19. foot — a measure
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. content — the amount
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. swing — in golf

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