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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: file · bat · court · deal · toast · craft · cabinet · content

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. file — a document
  4. court — of a king
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. court — for sport
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. toast — bread
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. deal — to handle
  14. court — of law
  15. craft — boats
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bat — the animal
  18. content — the amount
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. craft — a skill
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  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