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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. shower — rain
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pit — a hole
  6. shower — to wash
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. track — a song
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pit — in a race
  14. content — happy
  15. snap — to click
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. track — to keep track
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. track — a path
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pitch — completely

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