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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mug — a cup
  3. press — to push
  4. scale — size or range
  5. snap — to click
  6. kick — in football
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. mug — a face
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. press — a publisher
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mug — to rob
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. press — newspapers
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. content — the amount
  23. scale — in music
  24. fan — a supporter

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