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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: cue · content · racket · wave · kid · face · bat · row

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. face — to confront
  4. content — the amount
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. row — a line
  12. content — happy
  13. cue — a hint
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cue — a signal
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. face — part of the head
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. cue — for pool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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