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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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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. can — to be able to
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. can — a tin
  6. kid — child
  7. content — happy
  8. mate — to breed
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. can — a tin
  14. snap — to click
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mate — a partner
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mate — a friend
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wind — moving air
  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