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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cue — a hint
  5. toast — bread
  6. ball — a dance
  7. content — happy
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. deal — to handle
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. cue — a signal
  19. rash — a series
  20. cue — for pool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. content — the amount
  24. snap — to click

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