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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. snap — to click
  3. mate — a partner
  4. object — an aim
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. object — to protest
  8. bank — for money
  9. content — happy
  10. field — a subject
  11. bank — for money
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mate — to breed
  14. content — the amount
  15. bank — of a river
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. mate — a friend
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. object — a thing
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. field — for sport
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. field — farmland
  24. safe — a strongbox

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