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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. content — the amount
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. snap — to click
  13. content — happy
  14. can — a tin
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. can — to be able to
  18. fork — in a road
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mark — a grade
  21. squash — to crush
  22. can — a tin
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mark — a trace

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