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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: cabinet · plane · pit · content · court · cold · bat · mark

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. court — for sport
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. mark — a trace
  15. pit — a hole
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pit — in a race
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — happy

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