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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 116 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: row · bat · season · content · spring · pitcher · kick · firm

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. firm — a company
  3. row — a line
  4. content — happy
  5. season — of the year
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. season — in sport
  8. row — to paddle
  9. kick — in football
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. content — the amount
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. firm — decided
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. spring — the season
  19. firm — steady
  20. spring — of water
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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