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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. snap — to click
  6. spell — magic
  7. shower — rain
  8. spell — a short time
  9. ground — crushed
  10. content — happy
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. content — the amount
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spell — letters
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. content — videos and posts

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