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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. fall — to drop
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. content — the amount
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — happy
  10. fall — the season
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. fall — to drop
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mark — a trace
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mark — a grade
  19. sharp — clever
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. content — videos and posts

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