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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. content — the amount
  3. wake — a trail
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. object — a thing
  10. content — happy
  11. game — a match
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. snap — to click
  18. game — wild animals

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