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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. content — the amount
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. file — a document
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. file — a tool
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wake — a trail
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. snap — to click
  16. face — to confront
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. ground — the earth

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