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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cell — a phone
  3. net — in sport
  4. content — the amount
  5. rash — a series
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. net — after costs
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. rash — hasty
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a skill
  19. content — happy
  20. net — for catching
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bulb — for light

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