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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: dip · toast · saw · file · branch · bat · chest · content

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. branch — a division
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to sink
  15. file — a line of people
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. content — happy
  18. bat — the animal
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. saw — the tool
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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