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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 116 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. net — in sport
  5. rule — a law
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. can — a tin
  8. content — happy
  9. rule — government
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — in music
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. scale — size or range
  16. snap — to click
  17. can — to be able to
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. net — after costs
  21. can — a tin
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. net — for catching
  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