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

Word bank: pit · cabinet · bowl · wind · content · kid · bat · march

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. march — the month
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pit — in a race
  12. content — happy
  13. kid — child
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — the month
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. march — music

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