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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. chest — a box
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. chest — of your body
  11. kid — child
  12. wake — a trail
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mug — to rob
  15. content — happy
  16. saw — the tool
  17. content — the amount
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mug — a cup
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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