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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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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: bear · firm · fork · content · bat · chest · ball · tube

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chest — a box
  8. bear — the animal
  9. firm — decided
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. content — happy
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — a company
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. content — the amount
  24. ball — a dance

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