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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. spell — letters
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spell — magic
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. wind — moving air
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pitch — completely
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. squash — to crush
  20. wake — a trail
  21. content — happy
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. content — the amount

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