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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 are we going to ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bulb — for light
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. content — the amount
  8. snap — to click
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. content — happy
  11. sharp — clever
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. tear — from crying
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. bulb — for light
  16. tear — from crying
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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