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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. ground — the earth
  3. hand — in cards
  4. snap — to click
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bass — low music
  8. ground — crushed
  9. content — happy
  10. kid — child
  11. content — the amount
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. hand — help
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. ground — a position
  18. bass — the fish
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. calf — of the leg

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