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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: racket · content · bat · cabinet · row · shower · stick · sharp

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. row — a line
  4. bat — the animal
  5. content — happy
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. row — to paddle
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. content — the amount
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. sharp — clever
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. shower — rain
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. shower — to wash
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cabinet — ministers

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