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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · bat · drill · bay · land · lean · content · dip

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. content — happy
  5. land — a country
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. lean — thin
  12. drill — the tool
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. content — the amount
  24. lean — to bend

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