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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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. dip — to dunk
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rock — a stone
  5. content — happy
  6. game — wild animals
  7. tear — from crying
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wake — a trail
  10. tear — to rip
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. game — a match
  13. dip — to sink
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rock — music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. snap — to click
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. content — the amount

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