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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. snap — to click
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — a hole
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pit — in a race
  19. perch — the fish
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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