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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. lie — to recline
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. scale — in music
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. content — happy
  11. chest — a box
  12. content — the amount
  13. bulb — for light
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. chest — of your body
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chest — of your body
  22. dip — to sink
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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