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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: content · game · scale · swing · tube · bat · stand · shower

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. swing — music
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. swing — to play on
  5. tube — the underground
  6. content — the amount
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. shower — rain
  10. swing — in golf
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tube — a container
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. game — a match
  15. scale — in music
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. shower — to wash
  21. content — happy
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. game — wild animals

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