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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. row — a line
  3. hand — help
  4. snap — to click
  5. rash — hasty
  6. club — for golf
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. object — a thing
  13. rash — a series
  14. object — to protest
  15. club — for dancing
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. club — a group
  19. row — to paddle
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. plane — a tool
  22. content — happy
  23. object — an aim
  24. content — the amount

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