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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. rule — a law
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. net — after costs
  9. bat — the animal
  10. net — for catching
  11. club — for golf
  12. rule — government
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. net — in sport
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. club — for dancing
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. club — a group

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