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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. object — a thing
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. object — to protest
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rash — hasty
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rash — a series
  19. cell — a phone
  20. perch — the fish
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bass — the fish
  23. object — an aim
  24. content — the amount

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