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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 116 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rash — a series
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. game — wild animals
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. rash — hasty
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bear — the animal
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. file — a document
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. file — a tool
  18. game — a match
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bear — the animal
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pit — in a race

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