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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: cabinet · content · lean · foot · court · bat · chip · sharp

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. court — for sport
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. court — of a king
  13. bat — the animal
  14. lean — thin
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. foot — a measure
  18. content — the amount
  19. court — of law
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — to eat
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cabinet — ministers

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