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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 116 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bat — the animal
  3. plane — a tool
  4. spell — letters
  5. ball — a great time
  6. hand — in cards
  7. content — happy
  8. spell — a short time
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. spell — magic
  12. scale — in music
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. content — the amount
  24. bat — in an idiom

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