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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. hand — part of the body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — the amount
  4. chest — a box
  5. net — for catching
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bat — the animal
  9. branch — a division
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. hand — in cards
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. net — in sport
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. net — after costs
  23. trunk — of a car
  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