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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. content — happy
  8. wax — to grow
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. stock — goods
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. content — the amount
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. kick — in football
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. dip — to sink
  24. stock — shares

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