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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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468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. content — happy
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pass — a permit
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. snap — to click
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. lean — thin
  24. kick — in football

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