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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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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: content · kid · mark · straw · tube · bat · jam · wake

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tube — a container
  4. mark — a grade
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. tube — the underground
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mark — a trace
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kid — child
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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