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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 I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. last — final
  4. content — happy
  5. chip — to eat
  6. last — to go on
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. content — the amount
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pass — a permit
  14. chip — for betting
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. last — finally
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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