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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. staff — employees
  3. snap — to click
  4. content — happy
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. staff — employees
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. drill — army training
  10. saw — the tool
  11. scale — in music
  12. drill — the tool
  13. content — the amount
  14. staff — a stick
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. scale — size or range
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. drill — a practice
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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