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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. snap — to click
  5. mate — a friend
  6. file — a tool
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. content — happy
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chair — a leader
  13. content — the amount
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. file — a document
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mate — to breed
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. mate — a partner
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. deal — to handle
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bowl — to roll

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