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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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. mate — to breed
  3. shower — rain
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tear — to rip
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. shower — to wash
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. tear — from crying
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. mate — a friend
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. content — the amount
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. snap — to click
  23. mate — a partner
  24. content — happy

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