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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. deal — to handle
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. spring — the season
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. content — the amount
  8. clip — for paper
  9. spring — of water
  10. snap — to click
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bass — low music
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. spring — a coil
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bass — the fish
  24. deal — a big deal

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