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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.

Make a worksheet

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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. pass — a permit
  6. content — happy
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. chair — a leader
  9. content — the amount
  10. can — a tin
  11. object — an aim
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. object — to protest
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. object — a thing
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. chair — to sit on

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