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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: bat · chest · wind · fork · dip · roll · wax · bound

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. wind — moving air
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. roll — a list
  5. bound — certain
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to sink
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bat — the animal
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. chest — a box
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fork — a garden tool

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