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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. snap — to click
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. content — the amount
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. hand — help
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. deal — to handle
  21. capital — a city
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. rash — a series

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