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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. snap — to click
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. roll — a cake
  6. content — happy
  7. club — for dancing
  8. spring — the season
  9. club — a group
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. scale — size or range
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. scale — in music
  22. club — for golf
  23. roll — a list
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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