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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. mate — a partner
  7. content — happy
  8. lean — thin
  9. bat — the animal
  10. content — the amount
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bulb — for light
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mate — a friend
  24. lean — to bend

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