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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. branch — a division
  5. stock — shares
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. content — happy
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. stock — goods
  13. content — the amount
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chest — a box
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. foot — a measure
  22. chest — of your body
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. foot — part of the body

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