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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: bat · pitcher · content · face · club · hand · tube · hide

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. face — to confront
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hand — help
  11. club — for golf
  12. tube — the underground
  13. face — to point toward
  14. tube — a container
  15. club — for dancing
  16. face — part of the head
  17. hand — in cards
  18. club — a group
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. content — happy
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. hand — part of the body

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