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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. snap — to click
  9. bass — the fish
  10. content — happy
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — a city
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mine — for digging
  16. capital — money
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bass — low music
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. spell — letters
  23. content — the amount
  24. mine — an explosive

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