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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. dip — to sink
  6. drill — the tool
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. drill — army training
  9. cold — not warm
  10. content — happy
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cue — a hint
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cue — for pool
  21. content — the amount
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cue — a signal
  24. rash — hasty

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