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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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. court — for sport
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. present — a gift
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. content — the amount
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. content — happy
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — there
  21. snap — to click
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fork — in a road

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