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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. rock — music
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. spell — magic
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. rock — a stone
  8. snap — to click
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cell — a phone
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. capital — money
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. spell — a short time
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. capital — a city
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. spell — letters
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. content — happy
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. rock — to move gently

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