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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 · row · straw · toast · lie · cell · content · firm

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. lie — to recline
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. firm — steady
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. firm — a company
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. firm — decided
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cell — a phone
  22. content — the amount
  23. bat — the animal
  24. content — happy

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