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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 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. scale — in music
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bat — the animal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. snap — to click
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. prune — to trim
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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