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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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 click
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. hand — in cards
  4. content — the amount
  5. charge — electricity
  6. current — of water
  7. current — happening now
  8. face — part of the head
  9. current — electric
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chair — a leader
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. charge — a price
  14. face — to point toward
  15. staff — employees
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. hand — help
  18. staff — employees
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. staff — a stick
  22. charge — in control
  23. face — to confront
  24. content — happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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