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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bat — the animal
  3. can — to be able to
  4. chest — a box
  5. scale — in music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. can — a tin
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. stem — to come from
  15. can — a tin
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. scale — size or range
  19. branch — a division
  20. content — happy
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. chest — of your 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