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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rest — a break
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bass — low music
  6. rest — what's left
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. content — the amount
  9. bass — the fish
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chest — a box
  15. row — a line
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rest — what's left
  19. snap — to click
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — happy
  24. chest — of your body

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