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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. content — the amount
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pop — soda
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. content — happy
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — music
  10. fork — in a road
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. dip — to sink
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. wake — a trail
  18. fork — to eat with

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