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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · firm · cap · court · hide · march · hand · bat

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — help
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. court — for sport
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. firm — a company
  7. march — music
  8. cap — of ice
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — a lid
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. court — of law
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cap — a hat
  19. march — the month
  20. court — of a king
  21. content — the amount
  22. firm — decided
  23. firm — steady
  24. bat — the animal

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