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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 120 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: bat · lean · pitcher · staff · ground · deal · content · object

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. staff — employees
  6. ground — a position
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. object — to protest
  15. ground — crushed
  16. object — a thing
  17. lean — thin
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. object — an aim
  23. staff — a stick
  24. lean — to bend

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