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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. branch — a division
  5. fall — the season
  6. drill — the tool
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fall — to drop
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. drill — army training
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. content — happy
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. content — the amount
  24. bat — for baseball

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