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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. snap — to click
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cell — in biology
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. content — the amount
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rock — a stone
  13. foot — a measure
  14. tube — the underground
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. tube — a container
  18. land — ground
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cold — an illness
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. rock — music
  24. content — happy

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