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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. snap — to click
  4. sharp — clever
  5. root — of a word
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. tear — from crying
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. root — the cause
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. root — of a plant
  16. file — a line of people
  17. tear — to rip
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to succeed

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