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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 so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bat — the animal
  3. season — in sport
  4. bank — for money
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. file — a tool
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. deal — to handle
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. season — of the year
  18. file — a document
  19. spell — magic
  20. content — happy
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bank — for money
  24. dip — to sink

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