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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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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 · bat · straw · cell · foot · stick · shower · racket

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. shower — rain
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cell — a phone
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. foot — a measure
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. content — the amount
  13. cell — in biology
  14. content — happy
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. shower — to wash
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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