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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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. firm — decided
  3. content — the amount
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. snap — to click
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bass — the fish
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cold — an illness
  15. firm — steady
  16. craft — boats
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. firm — a company
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bass — low music
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. content — happy

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