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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. content — the amount
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. content — happy
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. club — for dancing
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. club — for golf
  19. wake — a trail
  20. club — a group
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. tear — to rip

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