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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bear — the animal
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — there
  13. content — the amount
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. bear — the animal
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. present — the time now
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — to eat

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