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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: ball · ruler · content · lash · bat · branch · chair · dip

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. chair — a leader
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. content — happy
  5. bat — the animal
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. content — the amount
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. ball — a dance
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. ball — a great time
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. branch — a division
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. chair — a professorship

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