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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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. content — happy
  3. stock — goods
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. mine — for digging
  9. content — the amount
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. snap — to click
  14. court — of a king
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. spell — a short time
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. spell — letters
  20. court — of law
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. spell — magic
  23. court — for sport
  24. stock — shares

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