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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wake — a trail
  3. drill — army training
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. drill — the tool
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bat — the animal
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. can — a tin
  14. content — the amount
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. content — happy
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. drill — a practice
  21. lie — to recline
  22. dip — to sink
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. can — a tin

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