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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. swing — to play on
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. content — happy
  11. sharp — clever
  12. ball — a dance
  13. key — for a lock
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — a tool
  16. content — the amount
  17. key — the most important part
  18. swing — music
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. key — in music
  21. ball — a great time
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. swing — in golf
  24. coach — a trainer

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