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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. craft — a skill
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. content — the amount
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kick — in football
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. craft — boats
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to sink

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