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

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. kid — to tease
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. kid — child
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. content — happy
  11. bulb — for light
  12. march — music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month

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