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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. snap — to click
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bound — certain
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bound — tied together
  9. staff — employees
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. staff — employees
  13. bound — obliged
  14. content — the amount
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. content — happy
  19. staff — a stick
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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