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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stem — to come from
  6. shower — to wash
  7. content — happy
  8. hand — in cards
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. press — a publisher
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. press — newspapers
  16. ball — a great time
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. ball — a dance
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. dip — to sink
  22. shower — rain
  23. press — to push
  24. hand — help

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