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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rest — a break
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. content — the amount
  13. pass — a permit
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. snap — to click
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. march — music
  19. rush — hurry
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wound — an injury
  24. march — the month

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