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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: bat · fork · board · ground · content · race · pop · chest

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. board — a committee
  5. pop — soda
  6. chest — a box
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. ground — the earth
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — to get on
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ground — a position
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bat — the animal
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. chest — of your body

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