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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · bat · rash · content · straw · hide · season · chest

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chest — a box
  12. season — of the year
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rash — a series
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — happy
  18. chest — of your body
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rash — hasty
  22. season — in sport
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bat — for baseball

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