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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.

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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fine — high quality
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. content — happy
  6. tube — the underground
  7. present — the time now
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. game — a match
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bat — the animal
  13. present — a gift
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. game — wild animals
  17. snap — to click
  18. fine — all right
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. sharp — clever
  21. present — there
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. tube — a container

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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