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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. chest — a box
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. rash — a series
  7. dip — to sink
  8. present — there
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rule — a law
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chest — of your body
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  24. rule — government

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