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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. snap — to click
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. kid — child
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lean — thin
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. drill — army training
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. content — happy
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lean — to bend
  16. drill — the tool
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wound — an injury
  21. kid — to tease
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. drill — a practice

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