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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 · lean · last · coach · hand · foot · bat · march

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. march — music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. march — the month
  6. last — finally
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. content — happy
  9. hand — help
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. lean — thin
  15. bat — the animal
  16. lean — to bend
  17. content — the amount
  18. last — final
  19. hand — in cards
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. last — to go on

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