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

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to click
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wind — moving air
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. content — the amount
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wind — moving air

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