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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. scale — in music
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. dip — to sink
  19. content — happy
  20. ball — a dance
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wound — an injury

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