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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mug — a face
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mug — a cup
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mug — to rob
  23. hand — help
  24. chest — a box

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