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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. club — for dancing
  5. kid — child
  6. content — happy
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — a group
  10. race — a contest
  11. march — the month
  12. content — the amount
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. spell — a short time
  17. kid — to tease
  18. race — the arms race
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. march — the month
  21. race — humankind
  22. march — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spell — letters

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