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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. mark — a grade
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. shower — rain
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mark — a trace
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cell — in biology
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. content — happy
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. rest — what's left
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wave — with your hand

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