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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. content — happy
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — of water
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spring — the season
  10. content — the amount
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. object — to protest
  15. spring — a coil
  16. root — of a plant
  17. object — a thing
  18. snap — to click
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. object — an aim
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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