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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: bat · fine · content · ground · chest · can · prune · swing

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. ground — a position
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. swing — music
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. can — a tin
  10. prune — to trim
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. swing — to play on
  14. can — to be able to
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. swing — in golf
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chest — a box
  19. bat — the animal
  20. content — the amount
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. prune — to trim
  24. fine — a penalty

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