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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: fine · jam · hand · pitch · content · bat · cabinet · saw

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. fine — a penalty
  2. content — happy
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pitch — completely
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. content — the amount
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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