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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hand — help
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — a contest
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. race — humankind
  19. content — the amount
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bowl — to roll

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