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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. firm — a company
  8. chest — a box
  9. dip — to sink
  10. tube — a container
  11. spell — a short time
  12. firm — steady
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chest — of your body
  15. spell — magic
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. firm — decided
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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