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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. rash — hasty
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. roll — a cake
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to click
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bound — tied together
  11. content — happy
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rash — a series
  17. content — the amount
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bound — certain
  20. roll — a list
  21. pass — a permit
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bound — obliged
  24. content — videos and posts

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