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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: bat · pitch · content · bore · court · chest · bear · lash

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bear — the animal
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bat — the animal
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. court — of a king
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pitch — completely
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. court — of law
  24. content — videos and posts

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