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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. net — for catching
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cold — not warm
  6. net — in sport
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. net — after costs
  9. cold — an illness
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. content — the amount
  12. rash — a series
  13. ball — a dance
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ball — a great time
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. content — happy
  23. rash — hasty
  24. snap — to click

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