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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. shower — rain
  3. scale — in music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. shower — to wash
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. content — the amount
  11. mug — a face
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. date — the fruit
  14. content — happy
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a cup
  17. fall — the season
  18. chest — a box
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. scale — size or range
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. content — videos and posts

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