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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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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: mate · chair · content · chest · cap · bay · bat · leaves

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cap — a lid
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cap — a hat
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. content — happy
  13. mate — to breed
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. chest — a box
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mate — a friend

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