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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. cell — in biology
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. current — happening now
  7. race — the arms race
  8. lean — thin
  9. hand — help
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. current — electric
  12. cell — a phone
  13. content — happy
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. current — of water
  17. race — humankind
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. race — a contest
  21. content — the amount
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lean — to bend
  24. club — for dancing

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